FOR THE RECORD

FOR THE RECORD

The Detectives' Endowment Association Sept. 18 began painting the town blue with an ad praising its members for reducing crime that runs the length of the 490 city buses carrying it.

With the ad copy superimposed on a view of the city skyline from the Jersey side of the Hudson River, it declares, "Crime is Down in This Town Thanks to the Dedicated Work of NYC Detectives ... The Greatest Detectives in the World."

There are two reasons for the promotion, which will unfold in two phases over the coming year, said DEA President Mike Palladino in a Sept. 15 phone interview.

"The first is to boost morale in the ranks," he remarked. "The second is to boost public awareness of the role Detectives have played in reducing crime in New York City the last 10 years."

The second phase of the campaign will tout the efforts of his members in combating terrorism not only here but in other countries as part of the NYPD's international operations in that area. "I have Detectives all over the world responding to terrorist attacks and gathering info and gathering evidence," Mr. Palladino said.

In addition to the bus ads, the union plans to run the same message on numerous billboards in Madison Square Garden when the Rangers and Knicks begin their seasons next month, he said.

At the time he spoke, Mr. Palladino hadn't yet alerted the leaders of other NYPD unions about the campaign, but he emphasized that his union was not trying to hog the credit for the NYPD's successes over the past decade-plus in substantially reducing crime.

"It's not really intended to insult or diminish the contributions of any other ranks," he said.

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The Association for Union Democracy will hold an all-day conference Oct. 14 on "Confronting Corruption in Labor Unions" that explores options such as rank-and-file insurgencies, government intervention, and internal reforms.

Among the featured speakers will be union officials who have tried to clean up organizations that were steeped in corruption linked to organized crime. They include Edward Sadlowski, a former district director for the Steelworkers union who served as the trustee of Laborers locals in Chicago that had been controlled by organized crime, and Mike Sullivan, a former reform leader of Roofers Local 30, which experienced a disastrous Federal trusteeship.

Those attending will also hear from Edwin Stier, the court-appointed trustee for Teamsters Local 560 who implemented an internal program to root out corruption in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; Barbara Harvey, an attorney for Teamsters for a Democratic Union; James Jacobs, a New York University Law School Professor who wrote "Mobsters, Unions, and Feds: The Mafia and the American Labor Movement, and Robert Fitch, author of "Solidarity for Sale: How Corruption Destroyed the Labor Movement and Undermined America's Promise."

Several past and present AUD officials, including Union Democracy Review editor Herman Benson and ex-Executive Directors Susan Jennik and Carl Biers, will also be panelists.

The conference will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the CUNY Graduate Center, 5th Ave. at 34th St., 9th floor. There is a $15 donation, and those wishing to attend are advised to pre-register on-line at www.uniondemocracy.org.

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Before visiting Ground Zero to mark the fifth anniversary of Sept. 11, President Bush had an intimate breakfast meeting with cops, firefighters, and court officers who responded to the terrorist attacks.

The group of court workers who rushed to the World Trade Center were especially thankful that the President included them in the gathering in lower Manhattan. "We were one of the few groups that were in the towers after the attack occurred," said Joseph Baccellieri, the Office of Court Administration's Chief of Training. "I was on the 51st floor of the North Tower. So I think the President and Mrs. Bush were quite intrigued by that."