Money for Nothing… Another Union Boss Bribed

The New York Post has the details: A Queens electrical contractor who did business with the city admitted today to paying off a union boss as much as $70,000 in return for “nothing.”

Santo “Sandy” Petrocelli admitted in Manhattan Federal Court to giving the money — along with the keys to a new Crown Victoria — to disgraced labor boss and former Democratic assemblyman Brian McLaughlin.

In a plea deal that could get Petrocelli as little as a year in prison, he told a federal judge that he gave McLaughlin the money and in return got “nothing, really.”

“We didn’t want any problems,” he added, saying McLaughlin controlled various labor unions.

Petrocelli, whose company was based in Long Island City, pleaded guilty to the charge of paying off a union official. He is slated to be sentenced later this year.

The crime carries a five-year prison sentence.