McLaughlin focus of federal probe

Federal investigators raided the offices of New York State Assemblyman and President of the New York City Central Labor Council Brian McLaughlin last week as part of a probe of McLaughlin’s possible involvement in bid-rigging schemes of city street-lighting contracts.
Investigators are looking into whether McLaughlin received improper benefits from street-lighting companies including Petrocelli Electric of Long Island City and Welsbach Electric of College Point – the two companies that fix streetlights throughout the city – in return for steering contracts to the two companies.
Investigators seized documents from McLaughlin’s Queens district office last week as well as documents from Petrocelli Electric’s offices. Reports also claim that McLaughlin was allowed to use a company credit card for personal use.
“Mr. McLaughlin denies all allegations against him,” he said in a statement through his spokeswoman Carolyn Daly. “He has retained an attorney, and they have initiated their own investigation of the allegations and will have a full response at the appropriate time. In the meantime, he appreciates the tremendous support he has received from his labor colleagues, family and friends.”
McLaughlin is the President of the Central Labor Council, which consists of nearly 1.3 million workers from almost 400 city unions.
Mario Cilento, a spokesperson for the New York State AFL-CIO, said that they are in the process of putting together a rapid response team that will most likely be made up of a half-dozen labor leaders who will be in charge of handling these matters. Cilento said that he expects the make-up of the team and its role will be determined by the end of the week.
“President McLaughlin understands this and fully supports this initiative,” Cilento said.
The federal probe happened nearly two months after McLaughlin surprisingly announced that he would not run for reelection for his Assembly seat because he wanted to focus more of his attention on labor issues as well as spend more time with his family. Union officials claim that McLaughlin’s decision not to run for reelection had nothing to do with the investigation.
As of press time, no charges had been filed against McLaughlin or any other parties involved, but the investigation is still ongoing.