US authorities accuse dock workers union of being under mafia's influence

NEW YORK (AFP) - US authorities filed a racketeering lawsuit against a dock workers union accused of being under the influence of the New York mafia.

The Gambino and Genovese mafia clans have controled ports in New York, New Jersey and Miami since the 1950s, the Justice Department said in a statement.

The suit was filed against the International Longshoremen's Association, AFL-CIO, some top ILA officials, including longtime president John Bowers, and several organized crime members, the department said.

"For decades the waterfront has been the setting for corruption and violence stemming from organized crime's influence over labor unions operating there, including the ILA and its affiliated Locals, as well as port-related businesses," it said in a statement.

"Since the late 1950's, two organized crime families -- the Gambino family and the Genovese family -- have shared control of various ports, with the Gambino family primarily exercising its influence at commercial shipping terminals in Brooklyn and Staten Island, and the Genovese family primarily controlling those in Manhattan, New Jersey and the Port of Miami," it added.

The civil complaint asks that a court-appointed trustee be named to oversee the ILA and its benefits fund. It also wants an order barring union officials and organized crime members from the union, its benefits fund and the waterfront.