'Donnie Brasco' says Mob controls construction via unions The former FBI agent who infiltrated the New York Mafia and helped convict more than 200 ga

InfraNews
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'Donnie Brasco' says Mob controls construction via unions

The former FBI agent who infiltrated the New York Mafia and helped convict more than 200 gangsters told Quebec's Charbonneau commission that the Mob would manipulate the construction industry and rake in large payoffs by infiltrating unions and controlling the supply of raw materials.

"Organized crime cannot operate without corrupting someone," former FBI agent Joe Pistone said .

And in the construction sector, that meant gaining control of labour unions — generally by having a Mafia man get elected president or business manager of a local, Pistone said.

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Here's a time and money saver...

A 132 foot bridge in the Region of Peel, Ontario was spanned this weekend using a single piece of insulated, fusible PVC pipe. This "all-at-once" installation saves tens of thousands versus traditional, old-fashioned installations.

Traditional construction techniques often require that the pipe be hoisted up in sections, welded in place over several weeks, and then wrapped in insulation. PVC is much lighter and both faster and easier to install.

The Mayor of the municipality, Marilyn Morrison, says the Bolton Feedermain project on Highway 50 is as important to her community of Caledon 'as the Olympics were to London.' Reports from the field say the pipe passed pressure testing immediately after installation.

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Flaherty "ready to act, if needed"

Says further infrastructure spending may be on the table if economy slips

Exactly four years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. set the global economy on a downward spiral that is still reverberating around the globe, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is grappling with a domestic economy stuck in low gear.

With Canada’s growth hovering below the 2-per-cent mark, unemployment at 7.3 per cent, and an unresolved European crisis looming over the globe, Ottawa is walking a fine line between staying on course to reduce its deficit and spending enough to keep the economy bubbling.

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Centre for Advancement of Trenchless Technologies (CATT) workshops announced

The workshops, conducted by industry’s leading experts, will provide critical information to plan, design and execute trenchless projects. CATT will host its AGM on Oct. 25, 2012 where the keynote speaker, Bernard P. Krzys, President of Benjamin Media Inc. will talk about the history of trenchless industry since its inception. For details about CATT activities and workshops registration information, please visit www.catt.ca.

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Right choices now save millions down the road

We see the images every day. Sinkholes, water-main breaks, floods, and construction chaos. There is an alternative.

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Comments or questions?

It's always good to hear from you. Call or email anytime.

Veso Sobot, P.Eng
Ipex Management Inc
(905) 795-6113 or veso.sobot@ipexna.com

(Editors note: If you received last months newsletter this morning... we're looking into the email gremlins, but until we find them, please accept our apologies.)

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