Former Union Executive Sentenced To 3 Years For Conspiracy

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A former construction union president has been sentenced to three years in prison for his part in what prosecutors say was a 10-year criminal enterprise that used intimidation and violence to secure jobs.

Mark Kirsch was one of 12 people indicted in the case against Operating Engineers Local 17 in 2008.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Lynch says that between 1997 and 2007, leaders and members of the suburban Buffalo-based union sabotaged equipment and attacked nonunion workers at job sites.

Kirsch was one of eight people convicted following a nine-week trial. The jury acquitted four others.

[STORY BY: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS]