Mr. Thomas C. Short
International President of I.A.T.S.E.
1420 Broadway
New York, NY 10018
October 21,2004
Dear Brother Short:
This letter concerns the criminal abomination that occurred at the IATSE Local
798 Union meeting on Tuesday, October 19,2004. Over 150 members in good standing
were present at last night's meeting, including the following eight members of the
Executive Board and the board of Trustees: Sharon Ilson Burke (President), Angel De
Angelis (Vice- President), Nick Troiano (sergeant At Arms), Linda Melo (TV Make up
Trustee), Dale Brownell (TV Hair Trustee), Toy Russell (Freelance makeup Trustee),
Aaron Quarles (hair Trustee), and Raymond Polgar (trustee). President Sharon Ilson
Burke acted as Secretary in lieu of our Secretary, Bernadette Mazur, who was not
present. The meeting was tape recorded by Sharon Ilson Burke and the sign in sheet was in her possession. This tape holds the only record of the minutes of this meeting, along with the incriminating and unconstitutional actions of President Ilson-Burke. She now refuses to relinquish this recording and denies possession of the sign-in sheet, claiming a member must have taken it from her .
At the meeting, we learned the facts about the illegal activities conspired to by our
Business Agent, Vincent Callaghan, and the steps our President, Sharon Ilson Burke, took
to conceal his guilt (see attached), from Attorney James Murphy of Spivak, Lipton,
Wantanabe, Spivak and Moss, LLP. Sharon Ilson Burke, as President, had permitted him
to conduct criminal activities (see lawsuits pending attached) within our union operations and had given him carte blanche to do as he wished with Local 798's largest asset, our building on 152 West 24th street in NYC. Although we were presented with the evidence of the 798 lawsuit vs. Vincent Callaghan (enclosed), she still defended him. We are outraged at the fact that Vincent Callaghan is still on our payroll, although he has been advised by his criminal lawyers to not attend meetings, address these issues or represent us. Conversely, he was present before the meeting commenced, but left prior to the call to order in an obvious, cowardly attempt to avoid the controversy, which he, himself, has created. The members resolved to demand the resignation of Vincent Callaghan .This motion, as well as several motions for "New Business" , were denied by our president after being seconded in the proper fashion in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order.
Our President and the entire Executive Board are at fault for the desecration of our
constitutional rights, the financial injustices being brought upon us, and the overall
devastation of our Union. The arrogance of our President's attempt to rule this local at her discretion, in direct opposition to the overwhelming majority of the attending members, is astounding.
She opened the meeting praising herself for her bad attitude and proudly flaunting her
arrogance and power over the membership. She violated the 798 Constitution and
Robert's Rules of Order by refusing to allow any motions to go directly to "New
!:Business". When 'New Business" was finally called near the end of our allotted rental
time (The fact that this Local rents meeting space, while we own a three-story building, is a further example of financial incompetence and neglect), Sharon Ilson Burke, against the majority rule, proceeded to serve papers filing charges against certain members in an unproven accusation, stating that they were the authors of an anonymous letter that circulated throughout our Local's roster.
This action caused an uproar amongst the members and was an obvious attempt to distract from the more pressing matters at hand, specifically, the imminent Motion for Impeachment of the officers, the Executive Board and the Board of Trustees. When the Articles of Impeachment (see attached) were finally allowed, and presented in strict accordance with our Constitution and by-laws, they were dismissed by Ms. Ilson-Burke and she refused to accept them. After several, seconded motions to vote on the impeachment were denied, the meeting was quickly adjourned.
While Ms. Ilson-Burke made a hasty exit, many members approached the
Attorney, James Murphy, and asked for his guidance. Attorney Murphy explained that
Spivak, Lipton, Wantanabe, Spivak, and Moss, LLP does not and will not represent the
rank-and-file members of Local 798 and that the members will have to retain their own
legal counsel.
We are asking for you guidance to help expedite the impeachment of the
officers, the Executive Board and the Board of Trustees of Local 798 along with any
legal guidance that may be needed.
Thank you.
Fraternally yours,
Francesca Paris
Alan D' Angerio
Kelly Gleason (via e-mail KGSPFX @ aol.com)