Two more ironworkers plead guilty

Two more city ironworkers pleaded guilty Wednesday to roles in a union scheme to intimidate and extort contractors who used nonunion workers.

Daniel Hennigar and James Zinn became the seventh and eighth defendants to plead guilty in a federal investigation of Ironworkers Local 401 that led to 12 arrests in February. Federal prosecutors have accused union leaders of farming out "nightwork" - criminal assignments done on behalf of the union - to members like Hennigar and Zinn, who in return gained prestige within the union.

Hennigar, 54, of Philadelphia, admitted that on Dec. 20, 2012, he drove two union enforcers to a Quaker meetinghouse under construction on Mermaid Lane in Chestnut Hill that refused to use union ironworkers.

When they got to the site, William Gillin and James Walsh poured gasoline on a crane at the site and set it on fire. Walsh, an experienced ironworker, used an acetylene torch to blast incisions into the unfinished structure's exposed beams and anchor bolts "for maximum damage," plea documents stated.

"I was involved," Hennigar said during his plea. "I was a part of it . . . and I shouldn't have did it."

Walsh and Gillin both pleaded guilty in September.

Zinn, 31, of Southampton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion. He agreed that from 2009 to 2013, he was a hammer man, meaning he wielded a sledge at sites throughout the region.

Zinn admitted to five incidents in which he used a sledgehammer to destroy anchor bolts at buildings under construction, including an elementary school in Wallingford, a Toys R Us store in King of Prussia, and a CVS in Warrington. These bolts are driven into concrete to secure a building's frame to the foundation. Smashed bolts delayed construction and repairing the damage cost thousands of dollars.

The guilty pleas Hennigar and Zinn entered Wednesday could lead to U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson's incarcerating each for as long as 20 years.

Hennigar participated in union enforcing out of financial need, plea documents state. During the recession, work was hard to find, and Hennigar noticed he was getting passed over for jobs in favor of union members who participated in nightwork.

Zinn initially rebuffed an offer to get involved in criminal activity when first approached in 2009, according to plea documents, but a few months later accepted a second invitation.

"This time, Zinn agreed, believing that it was his duty as a loyal union member to assist in this manner," documents state.

Both defendants were well rewarded for their work.

Zinn was appointed a union trustee on the strength of his criminal efforts.

The union's president, Joseph Dougherty, allegedly wrote a note to another union boss directing him to find work for Hennigar, who had complained he was not being fairly compensated after helping at the Quaker meetinghouse.

Dougherty has said he has committed no crimes. He is scheduled to go to trial next year.