NCJ Number
46411
Journal
Reader's Digest Volume: 108 Dated: (MARCH 1976) Pages: 85-90
Date Published
1976
Length
6 pages
Annotation
INVESTIGATION OF OVER 40 CASES OF ARSON INVOLVING BUILDINGS UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN COLORADO IS REPORTED. WORK BY THE COLORADO BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (CBI) HAS LINKED THESE CASES WITH RETALIATION BY TRADE UNIONS.
Abstract
ALTHOUGH LOCAL CONTRACTORS, POLICE, AND FIRE FIRE OFFICIALS SUSPECTED THE COLORADO ARSON EPIDEMIC BETWEEN 1968 AND 1974 WAS A PUNITIVE ACTION BY THE BUILDING TRADE UNIONS BECAUSE OF OPEN SHOP PRACTICES, NO PROOF WAS FORTHCOMING. THE LABOR DEPARTMENT FAILED TO TAKE ANY ACTION, AND THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION HAD GIVEN UP ON THE CASE. IN 1971, THE CBI BEGAN EFFORTS TO FIND PROOF. INTERVIEWS WITH BUILDERS DISCOVERED A PATTERN OF CRIME. UNION REPRESENTATIVES WOULD ASK BUILDERS TO SIGN A CLOSED-SHOP CONTRACT; REFUSAL TO SIGN WAS FOLLOWED BY A FIRE JUST AS THE BUILDING WAS ALMOST COMPLETED. A CHIEF ORGANIZER OF THE NORTHERN COLORADO BUILDING AND CNSTRUCTION TRADES COUNCIL TOLD THE LYNCH CONSTRUCTION COMPANY THAT NONUNION JOBS HAD BEEN KNOWN TO BURN ON THE SAME DAY THAT 18 NEW LYNCH APARTMENTS WERE SET ON FIRE. THE FIRST BREAK IN THE CBI INVESTIGATION CAME WHEN A UNION MEMBER IMPLICATED THE ORGANIZER AND OTHER UNION LEADERS IN ONE OF THE ARSON INCIDENTS. ALTHOUGH 14 UNION PEOPLE WERE ORDERED TO APPEAR BEFORE A GRAND JURY FOR QUESTIONING, NO ARRESTS WERE MADE, AND A NEW OUTBREAK OF ARSON BEGAN. CBI AGENTS SPENT NIGHT AFTER NIGHT INVESTIGATING CONSTRUCTION PROJECT FIRES THROUGHOUT THE STATE. FALSE PHONE TIPS INCREASED THE WORKLOAD. ARSON DAMAGES IN 1972 TOTALED $2.1 MILLION; FOR 1973, MORE THAN $2.7 MILLION. HIGH REWARD OFFERS HAD FAILED TO BRING ANY INFORMATION. A NEW APPROACH WAS TRIED WHICH INVOLVED COMPILING COMPREHENSIVE PROFILES OF ALL UNION MEMBERS UNDER INVESTIGATION. ONE MEMBER WAS PICKED AS A TARGET, AND CONTACT WAS ESTABLISHED WITH THE TARGET BY A CBI AGENT MASQUERADING AS A MAFIA MEMBER. TO LURE THE ORGANIZER, THE AGENT OFFERED MONEY THROUGH THE TARGETED UNION MEMBER FOR ARSON JOBS DIRECTED AGAINST THE ESTABLISHMENTS OF SUPPOSED GAMBLING DEBTORS. TO PROVE THE WORTH OF PROSPECTIVE ARSON THE UNION MEMBER GAVE THE CBI AGENT A TOUR OF CONSTRUCTION SITES FIRED UNDER THE ORGANIZER. USING RECORDINGS OF CONVERSATIONS WITH THE UNION CONTACT, INDICTMENTS WERE HANDED DOWN BY THE GRAND JURY, AND BOTH THE ORGANIZER AND THE CONTACT WERE FOUND GUILTY OF ARSON AND CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT ARSON. USING THE SAME TECHNIQUE, THE MAN IN CHARGE OF SETTING THE FIRES WAS IDENTIFIED AND EVENTUALLY CONVICTED OF ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF EXPLOSIVES. MORE INVESTIGATION AND FURTHER CONVICTIONS ARE STILL NEEDED. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT IT IS TIME FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND OTHER FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES TO CONTINUE THESE INVESTIGATIONS. (JAP)