09-22-05 -- Bellano, Steven et al. -- Guilty Pleas -- News Release

Three Former Union Officials Plead Guilty to Hiring Convicted Felon as Union Officer

CAMDEN - Three former Officers of the Production Industrial Trade Workers Union (PITWU) pleaded guilty today in Camden to hiring and conspiring to retain a convicted felon on a union payroll, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

Steven Bellano, 58, of Media, Pa., the former President of PITWU and Directing Business Representative, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson to hiring co-defendant Franklin Militello as an officer at the union, despite the fact that Militello had been convicted of drug distribution for which he served approximately 10 years in federal prison.

Dante Georeno, 43, of Mount Holly, the former Secretary/Treasurer and Directing Business Representative of PITWU, also pleaded guilty to conspiring to employ and retain a convicted felon, namely Militello, on the union payroll.

Franklin Militello, 64, of Jersey City, the former President of PITWU, also pled guilty to conspiring to remain on the payroll at PITWU as a convicted felon.

The defendants are schedule for sentencing on Jan. 5.

According to the Indictment to which the defendants pleaded guilty, PITWU, an independent union, formerly located in Cherry Hill, represented members who were employed as factory workers, auto mechanics, salesmen and other service employees in New Jersey and elsewhere. Between September 2000 and March 2001, the union was briefly affiliated with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO.

Under federal statute, persons convicted of certain crimes are prohibited from serving in any union-related capacity for a period of 13 years after their release from custody.

At their plea hearings, the defendants admitted that Militello was convicted in 1986 of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and was released from custody in 1995. Bellano admitted that he hired Militello as an employee of PITWU in the spring of 2000. Bellano then elevated Militello to the office of President prior to his own resignation from the union in August of 2001.

Militello was paid approximately $70,000 per year by PITWU, according to the Indictment. Georeno, himself a convicted felon who served 10 years in federal prison for armed kidnaping, was also hired by Bellano in the spring of 2000. Georeno served as Secretary/Treasurer of PITWU and then as Directing Business Representative from August 2000 until March 2003, according to the Indictment.

The union and its health fund ceased operation in March 2003 due to indebtedness.

The three defendants each face a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

In determining an actual sentence, the Judge Wolfson will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges that take into account the severity and characteristics of the offense, the defendant's criminal history, if any, and other factors. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.

Parole has been abolished in the federal system. Defendants who are given custodial terms must serve nearly all that time.

Christie credited Assistant U.S. Attorney V. Grady O'Malley of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark, and Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, under the supervision of Inspector General Gordon S. Heddell, with the investigation of the case against the defendants.

The Government is represented by O'Malley, Senior Litigation Counsel, in the U.S. Attorney's Office Strike Force Unit in Newark.

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Defense Attorney: Bellano - Robert Levant, Esq. Philadelphia

Georeno - Jeremy Frey, Esq. Cherry Hill

Militello - Lori Koch, Esq. Federal Public Defender's Office