Stoneham Man Sentenced to One Year in Prison

A Stoneham man and former International Representative of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) was sentenced to one year and one day in prison on charges that he made unlawful payments and falsified documents Monday in U.S. District Court in Boston, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press statement.

Frank Rago, 53, was the former President of ILA Local 1604.

In January 2010, after a 13-day jury trial, Rago was convicted of unlawful labor payments and falsification of documents required to be kept by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), according to the press statement.

At Monday's sentencing, the court dismissed a second conviction of unlawful labor payments, the statement reads. Rago was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $216,384 in restitution and $10,000 forfeiture.

Upon being appointed as an ILA representative, Rago secured a no-show job with the employer of Local 1604 members so that he could continue making his prior linehandler’s salary without performing any work, the statement reads. Rago directed that his salary would be financed from deductions from the contractual wage earnings of the Local 1604 members.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Mark Neylon, District Director, Boston District Office for the United States Department of Labor - Office of Labor Management Standards; and Robert Panella, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General - Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations for the United States Department of Labor; made the announcement Monday.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne Sullivan of Ortiz’s Major Crimes’ Unit and by Trial Attorney Vincent J. Falvo, Jr., of the United States Department of Justice, Organized Crime and Racketeering Section.

Information from the U.S. Department of Justice press statement was used in this report.