About The Film
Instead of building cases and prosecuting criminal elements in the Teamsters Union in 1989, the Department of Justice, under then US Attorney Rudy Giuliani, takes “temporary” control of the entire International Teamsters Union, but was extended for more than three decades trampling free speech and due process for 1.4 million union members.
1989
The Untold Story
Betrayal: When the Government Took Over the Teamsters Union documents the human cost of the government takeover of the Teamsters union.The film follows highly regarded Teamster leader Bill Hogan Jr. who fought against government control and found himself targeted by a government appointed watchdog with sweeping power to remove members for life even if they were never accused of a crime. Hogan finds himself barred for life on baseless charges from the union he helped build for criticizing government control which was supposed to last three years, but has lasted three decades. Thereafter, the government appointed watchdog known as the Independent Review Board or IRB barred for life four friends of Hogan who remained in the union for simply speaking to him. The government even charged Hogan with contempt of court for speaking to his lifelong friends which could have resulted in a jail sentence. After a long and expensive legal battle while his wife Ginni was dying of cancer, the case was settled with no admission of guilt. Yet Hogan is still banned from speaking to any Teamster other than his two sons.
The story is told through interviews with union members and former Justice Department officials who explain how the agency damaged lives and set a dangerous precedent for government overreach. Hogan and others point out that the Justice Department betrayed it’s own promise that the membership would have the right to vote on a consent decree that gave the government it’s power to control the union. Viewers also learn how the government watchdog which was supposed to rid the union of criminal elements, gave support to supposed “reform” candidate Ron Carey for International Union President who turned out to a former associate of the Lucchese crime family.. “Betrayal” is a powerful account of how government control greatly weakened the union, subverted internal democracy and led to the loss of three hundred thousand members.
Our Production Team
George Bogdanich –Producer/Director/Writer
Journalist, filmmaker, writer, former campaign consultant, George Bogdanich also produced and directed “Yugoslavia: The Avoidable War” (2002) a 165 minute three part documentary on the break up of the former Yugoslavia” which was broadcast in Canada, France, Israel, Germany, Serbia and Bosnia. It was shown theatrically in New York, Chicago, Toronto and Milwaukee. It was awarded Best Social Documentary by the New York Independent Film and Video Festival and was reviewed favorably by a number of publications including the New York Times and LA Weekly. George has written about labor and politics for a number of publications including the Chicago Sun Times, Chicago Tribune, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Nation, Progressive, Illinois Times and Huffington Post. The son of a steelworker in Gary, Indiana, George also worked several years as a steelworker and became active in the Steelworkers Union. He later served as a spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in Illinois.
He later served as a campaign consultant for several members of congress.
Mary Patierno – Associate Producer/Editor
Mary Patierno is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and film editor whose most recent film is the Ford Foundation funded, Nothing Without Us: The Women Who Will End AIDS, was released in November 2017 and has screened at DocNYC, Hot Docs and documentary festivals throughout the country. Her documentary Vieques: Worth Every Bit of Struggle, won Best Documentary at the New Vision Award (2005) from New Screen TV.
Marc Parroquin – Director of Photography and Associate Producer
Video Producer and Creative Director based in NYC. Marc handled booking travel, contacting potential interviewees, maintaining video equipment, shooting interviews, digital asset management, and editing, which included color correction and creation of rough edits for fundraising purposes. Marc handled video and photography, including working with location owners, client service, contractual agreements, lighting, audio recording, cinematography, and editing, along with motion graphics, creating content guidelines to streamline the production process.
Zak Piper – Associate Producer, Sound Recordist
Zak, a 15-year veteran of Kartemquin Films is an Emmy and PGA award-winning documentary filmmaker who has made films for five years. He is currently producing several feature documentaries including “Chicago Story” (working title) with producer-director Steve James about the recent mayoral election with co-directors Bing Liu and Joshua Altman. Previously, Zak produced the crucially acclaimed film “Life Itself” about the late film critic Roger Ebert which was chosen as Best Documentary by the National Board of Review and Broadcast Film Critics Association. Entertainment Weekly which listed it in its top 5 films of the year. It was released theatrically by Magnolia Pictures and broadcast on CNN.
William Forsythe – Narrator
Is a veteran actor who has appeared in classics such as Once Upon a Time in America, the Untouchables, Boardwalk Empire, Raising Arizona, The Man in the High Castle. He has also appeared on television series including Hill Street Blues, CHIPs and Hawaii Five O.
WAYS TO WATCH THE FILM
Online
Watch BETRAYAL Online – $12
Watch Betrayal on the run or from the comfort of your favorite chair, streaming on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, and Chromecast compatible devices.
DVD
Buy BETRAYAL on DVD – $15
Add a DVD copy of this powerful film to your personal movie library.
AUDIENCE SCREENINGS
PURCHASE PERFORMANCE RIGHTS
Educational institutions, trade unions and non-profits can purchase performance rights to screen BETRAYAL from our distribution partner, New Day Films. BETRAYAL provides both a historical and current context from which to explore labor rights, free speech, and government excess.