William E. Brock, Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor v. Joseph P. Mazzola, Robert E. Buckley, Robert J. Costello, Defendants
Opinion
Opinion
Norris, J.
This appeal arises out of an action brought by the Secretary of Labor charging trustees of the Pension Fund of Local 38 of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry (the “Fund”) with breach of fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. §§.1001-1461 (1982). Judgment was entered against the trustees ordering them to make good to the Fund for losses resulting from the breach of fiduciary duty in making loans at below-market rates. See Donovan v. Mazzola, 761 F.2d 1411 (9th Cir.1985); Donovan v. Mazzola, 716 F.2d 1226 (9th Cir.1983), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 1040 , 104 S.Ct. 704 , 79 L.Ed.2d 169 (1984).
After judgment was entered, appellant Joseph P. Mazzola, who was business manager and treasurer of Local 38 as well as one of the trustees ordered to make restitution to the Fund, wrote a letter to union members advising them that he would make a report at an upcoming membership meeting on the “restitution liabilities levied by Judge Weigel on the ... Trustees.” The letter went on to say:
When a copy of the Mazzola letter was sent anonymously to Judge Weigel, the district judge…