A bombshell Politico investigation reveals that 1199 SEIU boss George Gresham has used the union as his personal “piggy bank” to benefit himself, his family and his allies — information exposed only as the leader of the powerful health-care workers union is embroiled in a hotly contested election.
His rivals accuse the chronically ill Gresham (who draws a $300,000 salary) of numerous misappropriations, including:
- $60,000 to cover his daughter’s room, board and transportation to accompany him on business trips as his caregiver.
- Over $300,000 on a “get out the vote” concert series that coincided with Gresham family reunions.
- $17,000 on a hotel next to Montefiore Medical Center when he was receiving dialysis treatment.
- $86,000 for flights to South Africa in 2014 and 2018.
- A no-show union job that’s paid a Grisham ally over $1 million since 2009.
Grisham loyalists at the top of 1199 insist it’s all kosher; the dissidents challenging him in this month’s election cite the “pattern of financial misappropriation” as why they’re running to unseat him . . . though the apparent abuse goes back two decades, suggesting that any abuse wasn’t too objectionable until flagging it served their own ambitions.
With 450,000 members across four states and DC, 1199 is the nation’s largest health-care union and a huge force in New York politics.
That likely makes it too potent a power in Democratic politics for NY Attorney General Tish James to investigate, but that’s no reason the Trump administration can’t start digging — no matter which side comes out on top.
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