Ex-union leader has no money, lawyer says
By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer
Former United Public Workers leader Gary Rodrigues has no financial resources and is near the point of starving, his lawyer said yesterday.
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Rodrigues resigned from his $200,000 job as head of union last fall after he was found guilty of 100 criminal counts in federal court, including mail fraud and money laundering, having to do with health insurance plans he arranged for union members.
Gary Rodrigues claims he is owed more than $600,000 as payment for sick leave and vacation days.
Rodrigues' lawyer, Eric Seitz, told Circuit Judge Sabrina McKenna that the union has refused to pay Rodrigues the money he is rightfully owed in the form of a pension plan Rodrigues contributed to during his more than 30 years with the union.
In addition, Rodrigues claims he is owed more than $600,000 as payment for sick leave and vacation days he never took during his 20 years as head of the UPW, Seitz said.
He said Rodrigues' financial bind was made worse when his request to draw unemployment insurance benefits was rejected because he voluntarily quit his job. Rodrigues left the job after the UPW's parent union threatened to remove him after the federal court jury found him guilty as charged on all counts.
Rodrigues appealed the decision denying him unemployment benefits, but that appeal was denied recently, Seitz said.
Rodrigues' request for an order from the court directing the union pay him the money hit a snag when McKenna told Seitz yesterday that he should have filed the lawsuit against the union as well as Peter Trask, who was appointed by the union's parent organization to replace Rodrigues after he quit.
The hearing was continued to April 21 so that Seitz can name the union as a defendant as well.
"There is no reason to think that Mr. Rodrigues is wealthy or that he has a lot of money socked away somewhere," Seitz said after the hearing.
Federal prosecutors claimed that Rodrigues funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to his daughter Robin Rodrigues Sabatini by steering consultant contracts to companies owned by Sabatini, They also said Rodrigues failed to inform union members and officials about the contracts.
Prosecutors claimed Sabatini did little or no work in return for the contracts. Sabatini, who was also convicted of nearly 100 criminal counts, and Rodrigues are scheduled to be sentenced in May.
Seitz yesterday said he believes federal prosecutors will ask for restitution of at least $300,000 when Rodrigues is sentenced.
He said Rodrigues, who will almost certainly be sentenced to prison, will be "well fed and housed" if that happens. But until then, Rodrigues needs his pension payments to start flowing and his vacation and sick leave payments in order to meet his day-to-day expenses, Seitz said.
In addition, Rodrigues just got a letter from the UPW telling him it would not pay the legal expenses arising from a lawsuit brought against him by former union staff member John Witeck.
Reach David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8030.
