Latest news with #JamesCallahan
Washington Post
28-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Trump pardons a labor union leader on the eve of sentencing for failing to report gifts
WASHINGTON — A labor union leader who pleaded guilty to failing to report gifts from an advertising firm was pardoned by President Donald Trump on the eve of his sentencing hearing Wednesday, court records show. James Callahan, of Lindenhurst, New York, was general president of the International Union of Operating Engineers when he accepted — but failed to properly report — receiving at least $315,000 in tickets to sporting events and concerts and other amenities from a company that the union used to place ads.
Associated Press
28-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Trump pardons a labor union leader on the eve of sentencing for failing to report gifts
WASHINGTON (AP) — A labor union leader who pleaded guilty to failing to report gifts from an advertising firm was pardoned by President Donald Trump on the eve of his sentencing hearing Wednesday, court records show. James Callahan, of Lindenhurst, New York, was general president of the International Union of Operating Engineers when he accepted — but failed to properly report — receiving at least $315,000 in tickets to sporting events and concerts and other amenities from a company that the union used to place ads. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes was scheduled to sentence Callahan on Wednesday. On Tuesday, however, Callahan's attorneys notified the court of Trump's 'full and unconditional' pardon and asked for the sentencing hearing to be vacated. Ed Martin Jr., now the Justice Department's pardon attorney, was acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia when Callahan pleaded guilty on Jan. 29 to knowingly filing false annual reports with the U.S. Labor Department. Callahan's lawyers and a spokesperson for Martin didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment. Earlier this month, prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of six months for Callahan, calling him 'one of the most powerful union leaders in the country.' They said Callahan's salary and other compensation topped $500,000 annually. Now retired and living in Florida, he has a net worth of more than $5 million, according to prosecutors. 'That the Operating Engineers were unknowingly funding Defendant Callahan's spree of pricey entertainments — a lifestyle his substantial salary could easily accommodate — is especially condemning,' they wrote. Callahan's plea agreement required him to repay the union $315,000 for the tickets and to immediately resign as union president. 'Those tickets and amenities properly belonged to the Operating Engineers, and yet Defendant Callahan used many of those tickets personally and provided other tickets to members of his family and persons who were not members of the Operating Engineers,' prosecutors wrote. The Washington-based union that Callahan led represents nearly 400,000 heavy machinery operators on construction and industrial sites throughout the United States and Canada.
ABC News
08-05-2025
- ABC News
Court hears fatal Newcastle group stabbing attack was planned
Supreme Court documents regarding a fatal stabbing in Newcastle allege the incident involved multiple attackers and was planned. James Callahan, 22, was stabbed in Beaumont Street, Hamilton, in the early hours of November 17 last year. The Supreme Court has released documents to the media of redacted police facts that were tendered to the court as part of a bail hearing. The documents said Mr Callahan and a friend stopped at a late-night eatery and first came into contact within the group at 2:15am. They said Mr Callahan made a comment about one member of the group littering. By 3:30am, he was pronounced dead. The court documents gave a timeline of events after Mr Callahan and his friend left the eatery at 2:35am. "At 2:38am, the victims are captured on CCTV walking south and reaching the Australia Post office," the documents read. At this point, two cars performed U-turns, and group members got out, including one with a metal bar. The documents alleged a woman in the group yelled, "Motherf***er" and, "Smash him", encouraging the group to further assault Mr Callahan. The police facts alleged the same woman stabbed Mr Callahan three times in the abdomen and chest, as others kicked him. Then others arrived, including another man allegedly armed with a knife. He allegedly tried to stab Mr Callahan's friend before focusing on the wounded man. "The man was forced to retreat, leaving Mr Callahan to the mercy of multiple attackers," the document read. The court documents alleged the knife-wielding man then "stood over Mr Callahan and stabbed him at least twice in the back". Another group member hit him, before he scrambled to his feet. "Callahan stood up, completely defenceless and suffering multiple stab wounds," the document read. At that point, the group members got into cars and fled the scene. Police facts alleged plans were in motion to assault Mr Callahan from the moment the littering comment was made. "There was a level of planning and coordination to this attack," the facts alleged. The facts alleged the stabbing was intended to cause serious harm. "The level of violence in this attack by the co-accused is overwhelming and there can be no doubt the group were intent on committing at least grievous bodily harm upon the victim, in company," the documents read. Ryan Sampson, Jason Talbot, George James Fernando, Frank Allen and Alivia Briggs have each been charged with murder. Dianne Fernando faces a charge of principal in the second degree to murder. Teelah Cooper is charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder. The redacted police facts were released by the Supreme Court last week, when Ms Cooper was granted bail. The group of seven is due back in court on June 11.
Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- Daily Mail
How a single comment allegedly led to a young Aussie being stabbed to death outside a kebab shop
It was a simple comment about littering that allegedly led to James Callahan being allegedly stabbed to death outside a kebab shop. The 22-year-old had stopped for a meal on Beaumont Street in Hamilton, Newcastle in the early hours of November 17 at the time of the alleged attack. More details have emerged since six people were arrested and charged with murder over the incident - including allegations that the girlfriend of one of the accused helped her partner to avoid arrest. Mr Callahan and a friend were eating on the footpath when a woman threw some of her kebab out a car window as she drove past, according to a police fact sheet submitted to court and seen by The Sydney Morning Herald. Mr Callahan made a comment about littering, prompting several of the woman's friends to fight him, police allege. A patrolling police car broke up the scuffle, but although Mr Callahan and his friend moved to a nearby street, a car followed him and the woman's friends attacked again, police claimed. One allegedly swung a metal pole at him while another kicked and punched him. Police allege another man, Ryan Sampson, then got out of the car and stabbed Mr Callahan several times in the back and neck while he was lying face down, with one of his arms held out defensively. Sampson's girlfriend, Teelah Cooper, called Sampson back to the car and drove away with him, police alleged. The next day the couple sold their car, obtained another one and drove to Queensland, where Sampson was arrested, the document alleged. Cooper is accused of being an accessory after the fact to murder and concealing an indictable offence. Sampson and Cooper allegedly exchanged hundreds of calls while Sampson was behind bars, in breach of her bail conditions, with Cooper 'using another name to disguise her identity'. Her bail was revoked and she was remanded in custody, but last week Justice Stephen Rothman in the NSW Supreme Court granted her bail with strict conditions. She will face court again on June 11. Sampson, Jason Talbot, George James Fernando, Frank Allen and Alivia Briggs have been charged with murder over the alleged attack. Dianne Fernando has been charged with principal in the second degree to murder. A GoFundMe page for Mr Callahan's family paid tribute to the keen fisherman and environmentalist as a 'loved son, a brother and a remarkable friend'. 'I cannot thank him enough for the friendship he gave those around me, He could light up the universe with his smile and loved looking after his mates,' the page said.
