Making sure that victims of federal crimes are treated with compassion, fairness and respect. The following face up to five years in prison for this offense: Matthew Norton, William Brian Wangerman, Jeremy Sheeran and Andrew McKeon, who were Local 638 business agents; Robert Egan, former Local 638 secretary-treasurer; and former Local 200 Business Agent Arthur Gipson.
Chris Kraft. Annoyed by the bureaucratic mindset of the company, he decided to accept the offer from NACA instead. The principles that Kraft had inculcated continued to have an impact at Johnson Space Center long after he retired. At the beginning of the Apollo program, Kraft retired as a flight director to concentrate on management and mission planning. Sam Talkin, an attorney for Cahill, said: "We're pleading not guilty and we deny the allegations. He mixes all this up and out comes music. During the sixties, the Kraft family was deeply involved in church activities: Betty Anne taught Sunday school and served on the altar guild; Gordon was an acolyte; and Kristi-Anne sang in the choir. WebView the profiles of people named Chris Kraft.
In his 1965 interview with Time, he stated: Occasionally, Kraft intervened in order to ensure that his conception of the flight director's authority was maintained.
Around them, the room was filled with cheers, but Kraft and Gilruth celebrated more quietly. "[61], On August 9, Gilruth, Low, Kraft and Slayton flew to Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where they briefed NASA managers including Wernher von Braun and Rocco Petrone on the planned mission. Topics covered: virtual design and construction, material and product innovations, productivity improvements through technological advancements, and more. ", "The four of us had become an unofficial committee that got together often in Bob's office to discuss problems, plans and off-the-wall ideas. The lumps in our throats held them back. Eleven former New York construction union officials including the ex-president of a 200,000-member trades council have pleaded guilty to charges related to accepting bribes and other illegal payments paid by a contractor to win construction contracts. coconuts, fort lauderdale happy hour; mtm medical transportation phone number
Former President Of The New York Building And Construction Trades Council And 10 Other Union Officials Plead Guilty To Accepting Bribes And Illegal Payments He was now the head of mission operations, in charge of a team of flight directors, although still also serving as a flight director. "[41] Yet, Kraft proved to be remarkably successful at passing on responsibility to his fellow flight directorsarguably too successful, as Gene Kranz found during his first shift handover on Gemini 4. Kraft, Christopher. They are basically saying dismantle the safety and quality assurance mechanisms set in place after the Challenger accident. contains alphabet). 
KRAFT, and shall be deemed part of the sentence of the Defendant, and shall be included in the judgment of conviction therewith. All payments on the outstanding money judgment shall be made by postal money order, bank or certified check, made payable, in this instance, to the United States Marshals Service, and delivered by mail to the United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York, Attn: Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit, One St. Andrew's Plaza, New York, New York 10007 and shall indicate the Defendant's name and case number. America's first spacewalk happened during the Gemini 4 mission; Kraft, at his console, found that he had to force himself to concentrate on his work, distracted by Ed White's "mesmerizing" descriptions of the Earth below. [6] He went to school in Phoebus, where the only school went to the ninth grade[7] and attended Hampton High School.
This page was last edited on 7 March 2023, at 10:21.
Use our proprietary AI tool CaseIQ to find other relevant judgments with just one click. He would have been lead flight director on the first crewed Apollo mission (later known as Apollo 1), scheduled to launch in early 1967. Panelists highlighted technologies that identify forward-looking hazard indicators on site during the 2023 New York Build Conference. In fact, the task before him was vast, requiring attention to flight plans, timelines, procedures, mission rules, spacecraft tracking, telemetry, ground support, telecommunications networks and contingency management.[21][22]. Arthur Gipson, business agent, UA Local 200. According to the allegations in the Indictment, statements made in court, and court filings: JAMES CAHILL was the President of the New York State Building and Construction Trades Council (the NYS Trades Council), which represents over 200,000 unionized construction workers, a member of the Executive Council for the New York State American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (the NYS AFL-CIO), and formerly a union representative of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada (the UA). As alleged, the defendants agreed to accept dozens of bribes, totaling more than $100,000, in exchange for which they used their authority to corruptly influence the construction industry at the expense of labor unions and their members. "[76] Fundamental to the report was the idea that the Space Shuttle had become "a mature and reliable system about as safe as today's technology will provide. There were no words from either of us. It recommended that NASA's Space Shuttle operations should be outsourced to a single private contractor, and that "NASA should consider progression towards the privatization of the space shuttle. Copyright 2023 Connoisseur Media. [96][97], He won the Distinguished Citizen Award, given to him by the city of Hampton, Virginia in 1966; the John J. Montgomery Award in 1963;[2] the ASME Medal in 1973;[98] and the Goddard Memorial Trophy, awarded by the National Space Club,[2] and the Roger W. Jones Award for Executive Leadership in 1979. Cahill introduced the contractor to many of the 10 others who pleaded guilty. [2], Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr. was born in Phoebus, Virginia, on February 28, 1924.
He had also applied to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), a government agency whose Langley Research Center was in Hampton, Virginia; Kraft considered it to be too close to home, but applied as a back-up if he was not accepted elsewhere. Report of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, volume 1, p. 108. Kraft was right; the heat shield had not been loose after all. "[78] NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel took issue with the report, saying in May 1995 that "the assumption that the Space Shuttle systems are now 'mature' smacks of a complacency which may lead to serious mishaps. Asa result of the offense charged in Count Two of the Indictment, to which the Defendant pled guilty, a money judgment in the amount of $22,500 in United States currency (the Money Judgment), representing the amount of proceeds traceable to the offense charged in Count Two of the Indictment that the Defendant personally obtained, shall be entered against the Defendant. In 1994, he was appointed chairman of a panel to make NASA's Space Shuttle program more cost effective. This case is being handled by the Offices Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. They were, indicted for racketeering, fraud and bribery. Join Facebook to connect with Chris Kraft and others you may know. [68] As Lunney reflected in 1998: Kraft could, however, be a tough taskmaster, making it clear that there was no place in the flight operations division for those who failed to live up to his exacting standards. "[37], While some of these problems were due to mechanical failures, and responsibility for some of the others is still being debated, Kraft did not hesitate to assign blame to Carpenter, and continued to speak out about the mission for decades afterwards. [8], In September 1941, Kraft began his studies at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) and became a Cadet in the Corps of Cadets as a member of N-Squadron. At the climax of Apollo 11s descent to the lunar surface, Mr. Kraft was in mission control and conferred urgently with Mr. Kranz when, minutes before the scheduled landing, computer alarms rang out, threatening disaster. Prosecutors alleged the bribes were in exchange for "acquiescing in the bidding and performing of construction work with non-union labor for plumbing and pipe fitting projects that would otherwise have potentially been awarded to companies whose employees were represented by Local 638 or Local 200.". Wearing headphones, chewing a cigar, seated in a swivel chair at the flight directors console surrounded by engineers at their computers and 17 projection screens, he coolly absorbed avalanches of incoming data and made tough go, no-go decisions during launch countdowns, at separation points of multistage rocket ascents and at other critical times in a flight. Attorney for Defendant, HONORABLE COLLEEN McMAHON UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE, DAMIAN WILLIAMS United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, DANIELLE R. SASSOON, JASON M. SWERGOLD, JUN XIANG, LAURA De OLIVEIRA, Assistant United States Attorneys, CHRISTOPHER KRAFT, EDWARD V. SABONE, ESQ. The indictment alleges that the officials used their influence to interfere with labor-management relations in the construction industry in exchange for bribes,including Cahill's advice to a nonunion employer not to sign up with a union and not pursue bids that would have resulted in work for union members. ", During one meeting, according to the indictment, Cahill told an unnamed employer not to sign with a union, but instead to "tell everyone to go [expletive] themselves" because "if you become union, youll have 12 [expletive] guys on your back.". The 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing has been widely celebrated with a host of commemorative events, including television documentaries. understands each other, and everyones taken care of., CAHILL and the other members of the Enterprise used their positions of power with respect to Local 638 to receive bribes in exchange for taking actions favorable to non-union employers, and exercising corrupt influence within the construction trade, all to the detriment of Local 638 and the union members interests. For instance, in one meeting with Employer-1, CAHILL urged Employer-1, in sum and substance, not to sign with a union, but instead to tell everyone to go fuck themselves because if you become union, youll have 12 fucking guys on your back., All 11 defendants are also charged with participating in conspiracies to commit honest services fraud and violate the Taft-Hartley Act, based on, among other things, their agreement to accept bribes in exchange for acquiescing in the bidding and performing of construction work with non-union labor for plumbing and pipe fitting projects that would otherwise have potentially been awarded to companies whose employees were represented by Local 638 or Local 200., * * *. The signature page of this Consent Preliminary Order of Forfeiture/Money Judgment may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which will be deemed an original but all of which together will constitute one and the same instrument. Christopher Kraft, business agent, Local 638. He got two years of probation and a $10,000 fine for misdemeanor Taft-Hartley Act violation. In 1972, Mr. Kraft was named director of the spacecraft center renamed the Johnson Space Center in 1973 and held the post for a decade until his retirement in 1982. All of the defendants were arrested yesterday afternoon or earlier today and will be presented this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger. The case is assigned to Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon. [47] There was nothing anyone could do; before the crew at the pad could get the door open, the three astronauts were dead, having been overcome by toxic gases. That's what we do here. Challenges in Asset and Equipment Management. It gave him a sense of the responsibility he would have for the lives of others, whether human or chimpanzee.
KRAFT, HILL, NORTON, WANGERMAN, MCCARRON, SHEERAN, and MCKEON were Business Agents, EGAN was the Secretary-Treasurer, and ROCHE was the Business Agent At Large of the Local 638 of the UA (Local 638). The failure of one of the hydrogen peroxide jets controlling the spacecraft's attitude forced Kraft to make the decision to bring the capsule back to Earth after two orbits. "[50] The article described Kraft's role in the Gemini 5 mission, and drew on his frequent comparisons of his position as flight director with that of an orchestra conductor. [72][73], In April 1982, Kraft made what newspaper reports called a "surprise announcement" that he intended to step down as center director at the end of the year. In return, the union officials would support the contractors bids on projects in which the unions negotiated project labor agreements, which are required in New York on certain major projects. But its second flight seven months later had to be curtailed to two days from five after fuel-cell problems arose. The first NASA flight director, Kraft emerged from boyhood in small-town America to become a visionary who played an integral role in what would become the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
They accepted bribes to corruptly favor non-union employers and influence the construction trade in New York..
[8], Kraft died on July 22, 2019, in Houston, aged 95, two days after the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moonwalks. The NYS Trades Council represents over 200,000 unionized construction workers.
Prosecutors allege Cahill was the leader of the so-called "enterprise," which they said "conspired to accept cash bribes, as well as bribes in the form of 'loans' that were never repaid, free meals and drinks, free labor on personal property, and purchases of home appliances.". [11] Kraft was assigned to the flight research division, where Robert R. Gilruth was then head of research. 
[89] In addition to his duties as a lay reader, Kraft spent some time teaching a class in adult Bible study. Lives in Davenport, Iowa. On August 14, they, along with the Huntsville group, traveled to NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. to brief Deputy Administrator Thomas O. Paine. Attorney for the United States Ilan Graff said: As alleged, the defendants exploited their labor organization positions to line their own pockets. They did so at the expense of the unions and their members by accepting bribes to favor non-union employers and corruptly influence the construction trade. Todays indictment reflects our commitment to rooting out corruption and bringing to justice those who abuse positions of power out of personal greed. We thank the Suffolk County District Attorneys Office for their partnership in this case., Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini said: As alleged in todays indictment, these union officials who purported to be the ones looking out for workers and their rights were in fact engaged in an enterprise of corruption at the expense of the hardworking men and women they claimed to represent. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge. Each of these defendants accepted thousands and, in some cases, tens of thousands of dollars of cash bribes from Employer-1, a contractor who had projects and potential projects within the jurisdiction of Local 638 and Local200. The shuttle Columbia flew a nearly flawless first mission in April 1981, circling the world 36 times and landing in California. The Gemini program represented a string of firsts for NASAthe first flight with two astronauts, the first rendezvous in space, the first spacewalkand Kraft was on duty during many of these historic events.
His voice conveyed unshakable confidence, though a flight surgeon during one liftoff measured his pulse at 135 beats a minute. The panel's controversial report, known as the Kraft report, recommended that NASA's Space Shuttle operations should be outsourced to a private contractor. Subscribe to Construction Dive for top news, trends & analysis, The free newsletter covering the top industry headlines, Cintoo and Autodesk donate to help at risk youth, Aedo Launches Data Strategy Development Service to Empower Construction Companies with Compreh, Catamount Constructors Announces National Industrial Expansion, Genda joins AXA XL Ecosystem as Preferred Partner, By signing up to receive our newsletter, you agree to our, Eleven former officials from several New York labor unions have, pleaded guilty to charges of accepting bribes. White delayed his return to the capsule, and a communication problem prevented capsule communicator Gus Grissom from getting the crew to hear the order to terminate the spacewalk. Let Construction Dive's free newsletter keep you informed, straight from your inbox.
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