Long Island Union Leader Gets Prison Time For Extorting Business

A Long Island union leader was sentenced to prison time on Friday for extorting a construction business owner in Queens into using union labor, according to the United States Attorney's Office.

Roland Bedwell, 57, of Freeport, the former business manager of United Plant and Production Workers Local 175, was sentenced to five years in prison and three years supervised release. He pleaded guilty in August 2017 to the extortion charges.

“Unions exist to protect workers, not to serve as vehicles for extortion," United States Attorney Richard Donoghue said in a press release. "This sentence ends Bedwell’s career of extorting business owners and sends a clear message that others who attempt do so will suffer the same fate."

According to prosecutors, the extortion Bedwell was sentenced for was caught on tape. Bedwell told the business owner the "financial pain" he had inflicted on others who didn't use union labor. He told the business owner that if he didn't hire Local 175 members, that he had a crew of 15 "ex-military men," who would not be afraid to go to prison, that would interfere with the man's business and make him lose a "tremendous amount of money."

Bedwell said, “Honestly, whatever they do or don’t do – pretty much up to them . . . either you’re gonna
sign the contract . . . or these boys are gonna do it again.” This intimidated the business owner into signing a contract with Local 175.

Bedwell also admitted that he attempted to extort another construction business owner, telling him that he would not get asphalt delivered to a job at LaGuardia Airport if he did not agree to employ Local 175 members. When the owner refused, Bedwell and his men stopped the asphalt trucks, harassed the drivers and slashed their tires.

Prosecutors say that Bedwell would often refer to his ties as a member of the Gambino crime family of La Cosa Nostra to intimidate business into signing contracts with his union. Bedwell and his men also assaulted workers who refused to sign with the union.

“[Bedwell] boasted about how he didn’t understand why he wasn’t in jail," FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney said. "After an outstanding investigation with our law enforcement partners, that’s exactly where he is going.”

Photo: Shutterstock