Was lavish life built on backs of teachers'?

[MORTARDUDE]

Was lavish life built on backs of teachers'?
That's the question being asked of union leader Pat Tornillo as prosecutors look into his spending.
By ANITA KUMAR, Times Staff Writer
? St. Petersburg Times
published June 7, 2003

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Even now, as federal agents pore over the financial records they seized from his union headquarters in Miami, Pat Tornillo remains a legend among Florida teachers.

He led the nation's first statewide teachers' strike, a bitter walkout that kept 1-million Florida children out of school but gave public employees the right to bargain collectively.

He built the largest labor union in the South, securing higher pay for teachers who paid him millions of dollars in dues - money he used to help elect dozens of Democrats to public office.

But the 77-year-old Tornillo now faces the biggest battle of his life. Federal agents are investigating whether he also used teacher dues to finance a lavish lifestyle for himself and his wife.

Former employees say he charged the Miami-Dade teachers union for $2,000-a-night hotel suites and trips to Europe and the Far East. According to published reports, he used his union credit card to buy tailored suits in Hong Kong, jewelry in California and python-print pajamas from Neiman-Marcus. He is even accused of using union dues to pay his maid.

Tornillo and his wife, Donna, also own property around the state valued at more than $1-million. Their most recent purchase: a $300,000 home under construction in an affluent Tallahassee neighborhood.

Tornillo, an old-style union boss known for his loud voice and combative tactics, is mostly silent these days.

"I have a personal battle to fight," he said in his only public statement since the federal raid in late April. "I am determined to win that fight and clear my name. The press, however, is not the forum for that fight."

Those familiar with his 40-year career see what's happening as a tragedy.

"He was the primary voice for public education in Florida," said Rob McMahon, president of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association and a Tornillo acquaintance for two decades. "It's a shame to see this kind of scandal at the end of his career."

The godfather
Tornillo's critics - and he has many - describe him as ego-driven, antagonistic and destructive to public education. He has been called Fidel Castro, the godfather and president for life.

But one of the things raising hackles now is timing. According to the Miami Herald, which has outlined his alleged offenses in considerable detail, Tornillo's spending became particularly egregious even as teachers were facing pay cuts or trying to avoid layoffs.

During a recent 30-month period, Tornillo and his wife charged an estimated $350,000 to the United Teachers of Dade, reported the Herald, which said it inspected Tornillo's credit card statements, union checks and financial records.

The spree came on top of the $243,000 salary Tornillo received annually as union president. He is now on unpaid suspension.

Gary Landry, who was hired by Tornillo to work for the state union, said he questioned the spending and told Tornillo it was raising eyebrows.

"There is so much extravagance and waste," said Landry, who now works for the James Madison Institute, a conservative think tank in Tallahassee. "I always thought it was wrong. If I were a teacher paying dues I would say, "Why do I support this?' "

Tornillo's friends point to his work on behalf of Florida teachers.

He came to Florida from New Jersey in 1956, after doctors insisted on a warmer climate for his oldest son, who had rheumatic fever. He started teaching that year, joining the Dade County Classroom Teachers Association.

Tornillo was soon running the union, which he led for four decades. Until three years ago, he also ran a state teacher's union, the Florida Education Association/United.

In 1968, Tornillo led 35,000 teachers on a statewide strike. He was convicted of contempt of court and sentenced to jail for instigating the walkout, which lasted three weeks. The case was appealed and he never did any time, though educators and many parents considered him the enemy. Some teachers never got their jobs back.

As a result of the strike, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that teachers and other public employees have the right to bargain collectively with management over wages, hours and working conditions.

"Young schoolteachers don't know about history," said G. Holmes Braddock, who served on the Miami-Dade County School Board for 38 years. "There's no question they are getting several thousands of dollars more a year because of Pat."

Tornillo also was a political force. Over the years, he helped elect dozens of Democrats to local and statewide office. In 1998, he was honored by 1,000 people at a $100-per-person banquet organized in part by then-Gov. Lawton Chiles.

But Tornillo's political power waned in recent years as Republicans took control of the Governor's Mansion and the Legislature. Conservative leaders want programs that unions consider a threat to public education: taxpayer-financed vouchers for private schools, charter schools run by private groups with public money.

And then came the raid.

Rich and famous
On April 29, federal agents walked into the union's new $20-million headquarters on Biscayne Boulevard and seized boxes of financial records. They took Tornillo's appointment calendar, expense reports, reimbursement forms, bills, receipts, credit card statements and union payment records.

Among the records: receipts for a $10,200 trip to St. Barts and other Caribbean islands, a $4,158 shopping spree in New York City and a $1,032 tab at a Robert Talbott clothing store in Carmel, Calif., according to the Herald.

"It was quite shocking to hear," said Lois Frankel, a former Democratic leader of the state House and now mayor of West Palm Beach. "Pat Tornillo has been an institution. If the allegations are true, it's obviously very disappointing."

Others say Tornillo is getting what he deserves.

"He was leading the lifestyle of the rich and famous," said Damaris Daugherty, a Miami lawyer who founded the Teacher Rights Advocacy Coalition, which is looking to replace Tornillo's union. "Teachers' benefits continued to erode while he and his friends made millions of dollars."

According to property records, Tornillo owns two homes on St. George Island in the Panhandle, including a 3,000-square-foot beachfront house with a dune walkover. He also owns a townhouse in Tallahassee and is constructing another house in that city's Hermitage subdivision, home to some of the city's most prominent residents.

Miami lawyer Thomas Spencer is representing David J. Albaum, the union's former financial consultant, who is cooperating with federal agents. Spencer said union officials knew about the properties, which he thinks are part of the federal investigation.

FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said agents know he has several properties, but would not comment on the investigation.

Ron Sachs, who has talked to Tornillo several times since the raid, said his longtime friend is intent on clearing his name.

"Obviously he's concerned about this," said Sachs, a media consultant who also worked as Chiles' communications director. "It's the most important fight of his life."

- Times staff writers Lucy Morgan and Julie Hauserman, and researchers Cathy Wos, Deirdre Morrow and Aakash Patel contributed to this report.

Lavish spending
Federal investigators are trying to determine whether Pat Tornillo, the longtime head of Miami-Dade County's teacher union and one of Florida's most prominent labor leaders, used union dues to support a lavish lifestyle. Below are some of the estimated $350,000 in expenses Tornillo and his wife charged to the United Teachers of Dade during a 30-month period:

* $20,138 for an eight-night stay at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Miami.

* $1,441 for tailored suits while traveling in Hong Kong.

* $3,900 for a necklace and gold ring in Carmel, Calif.

* $175 for a pair of python-print pajamas from a Neiman Marcus catalog.

* $1,339 at two art galleries in Queenstown, New Zealand.

- Source: Miami Herald