Before a courtroom filled with rank-and-file workers, Michael Forde, former executive secretary-treasurer of the New York District Council of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, was sentenced to 11 years in prison, an additional three years of supervised release and restitution. He pleaded guilty in July to participating in what Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Zornberg called a �mind boggling� 15-year racketeering scheme.
On July 28, 2010, Forde admitted to taking bribes from multiple contractors, helping contractors cheat the District Council Benefit Funds out of millions of dollars, rigging job assignments, lying under oath, and obstructing investigations into his conduct.