CORRECTION UNION CHIEF IN FACEOFF
Boscio battling with upstart for leadership; challenger called on carpet, but panel reprimand preserves race
A bitter union election campaign is unfolding at the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, in which city correction officers at Rikers Island and other jails are being asked to choose between a powerful incumbent and an upstart challenger.
A sign of the brewing scrap in the COBA vote scheduled for June came Feb. 26, one day after the upstart, William Rodriguez, announced his run.
That day, Union President Benny Boscio scheduled an internal hearing against Rodriguez for missing several meetings with managers in his unit last year. Rodriguez boycotted the hearing in protest.
But the COBA panel voted 8-1 on Thursday to just reprimand Rodriguez, preserving his candidacy.
“It’s a tactic — if you run against me, I’m going to bring you up on charges,” Rodriguez, 39, said of Boscio’s move to discipline him under union rules.
“It’s disheartening. He seems to be scared,” added Rodriguez, a 16-year veteran officer.
Countered Michael Skelly, a spokesman for Boscio: “Beware of false prophets.”
“Boscio has been laser focused on negotiating the best possible contract for all COBA members, and while others have the luxury of grandstanding, promoting themselves, and misleading the members on a regular basis, we’ll continue to deliver results that matter for all our members,” Skelly said.
COBA campaign season begins as the rank-and-file continue to be buffeted by constant criticism over deaths and uses of force, stretched thin by staffing shortages and exhausted by double tours.
They have been without a contract for two years, the prospect of a federal court takeover of the jails is looming and recruiting new officers has been a struggle.
“Since 2020, we have endured a lack of leadership that has contributed to over 250 officers terminated and over 800 suspended and medically let go,” Rodriguez said. “Benny has been boisterous, but what has that gotten us? He’s the dog that barks but doesn’t bite. If we don’t have anything to show for it, what’s the point?”
A key nominating meeting approaches in May, followed by the summer election. Rodriguez is the first to jump in the race — he announced with a short video posted on social media and a website advertising his “Back the Boldest” slate.
Rodriguez is from a Correction family. He followed his father, also named William, onto the job, and his brother is also a correction officer. He has worked for most of his career in the Special Operations Division, tracking security clearances, and has been a union delegate for four years.
Three years into his career, he was involved in a use of force that caused the death of detainee Angel Ramirez in 2011. Rodriguez, then working in the Anna M. Kross Center as a floor officer, told investigators at the time he punched the 49-yearold Ramirez once in the chest after Ramirez took a swing at him, The News previously reported.
The city medical examiner classified the death as a homicide, but then-Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson declined to file charges. In June 2015, the city settled a lawsuit filed by Ramirez’s family for $1.25 million.
Scott Rynecki, the Ramirez family lawyer, expressed shock at the time that a case was not presented to a grand jury. “It defies logic,” he said, noting that the dead man had broken ribs and a lacerated spleen.
Last week, Rodriguez declined to discuss the incident in detail, saying, “It was an unfortunate situation that occurred, and I was administratively transferred.”
A retired correction captain familiar with Rodriguez’s record said, “He made the best of a bad situation.”
Overall, the retired captain said, “He’s a team player. He has integrity, and he’ll surround himself with good people.”
Boscio, for his part, has become known for his passionate defenses of the rankand-file at City Council hearings. In 2021, he crashed a press conference held by jail reform advocates outside Rikers Island to try to counter their narrative.
Boscio in April 2023 described a plan put out by Council members to lower the jail
population as “this latest socialist manifesto.”
In October, he told a state Senate committee, “Time and time again, we are treated like second-class citizens.”
Rodriguez alleges that Boscio did not protest enough in 2022 and 2023 as former Correction Commissioner Louis Molina fired, medically separated and suspended hundreds of officers.
Molina even touted those terminations, declaring March 23, 2023 to a Council panel that he had suspended or fired more officers “than by any commissioner in recent years.”
“Benny Boscio sat right behind him and didn’t even contest or challenge that. He just sat there,” Rodriguez said.
Boscio responded that rather than settling cases, he told the union’s lawyers to fight the charges. “We have successfully saved hundreds of officers from terminations over the past 3 ½ years,” he said.
Boscio claimed in 2021 when the de Blasio administration threatened to privatize perimeter security posts on Rikers Island, Rodriguez gave a security contractor a tour of those posts. Rodriguez says a high-ranking chief had simply ordered him to show the company the perimeter.
Officer Christopher Cruz, a delegate assigned to the Correction Academy who supports Rodriguez, cited a pay disparity with police officers as an issue — cops start at $58,580 and top out after five years at $121,589, while correction officers start at $47,857 and top out at $92,073.
“We wanted change four years ago, we asked Benny for that change ,and he was supportive of Molina,” Cruz said. “The officers are tired, but we’re not replacing enough of them. It’s unfair to the staff.”
Boscio said a city official confirmed contract negotiations remain ongoing. “When our contract is finalized, I will be happy to dispel much of the misinformation and blatant lies spread by Rodriguez,” said the incumbent union head.
Cruz also noted that the union rules which require a candidate to become a delegate and attend 10 consecutive monthly membership meetings blocks many officers from running.
“Everyone should have a chance to run, but it’s almost impossible for staff to get to that many meetings because of the staffing shortages and having to work double tours,” he said.
Boscio originally notified Rodriguez of last summer’s alleged missed meetings on Dec. 8. “I was a delegate for six years and took those responsibilities very seriously. It’s a shame that Rodriguez doesn’t share that same commitment,” he said.
Rodriguez claimed the complaint missed a 30-day filing deadline.
Boscio next sent his Feb. 26 email to Rodriguez setting the Thursday hearing. Rodriguez demanded a postponement, saying Boscio was violating the bylaws.
Boscio on Wednesday rejected the postponement, writing that Rodriguez had ample time to prepare.
Rodriguez then boycotted the hearing. The panel voted to give him a written reprimand. His delegate status was preserved, thus allowing his campaign to continue.
“I don’t pay attention to any of it — it’s kind an attempt to intimidate me,” Rodriguez said. “My opinion is that the members are looking for change, and they see me in my role as a delegate and they have confidence in me.”