By Luke Rosiak, The Washington Times

The Laborers’ International Union has in its legislative affairs office a lobbyist who pleaded guilty in a fraud case despite a federal law banning convicts from overseeing unions’ finances.

The troubled union also was hit this month with a tax lien from the District of Columbia, which charged that it owes nearly a half-million dollars in unpaid taxes dating back eight years.

According to a former employee, the workers at the nepotism-besieged headquarters felt so mistreated that receptionists and others tried to unionize under the AFL-CIO, only to have the Laborers’ Union headquarters engage in union busting.

Tax arrears

The District’s Office of Tax and Revenue issued a tax lien Jan. 9 against the union’s Connecticut Avenue Northwest headquarters in the amount of $460,736 for unincorporated franchise taxes, penalties and interest on 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2010 taxes, records obtained by The Washington Times show.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013