Syracuse, Binghamton, Oswego Labor Unions Recover Some of Madoff Ponzi Scheme Losses

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — A labor union local in the Syracuse area has received about half of the more than $20 million that it lost in the Bernard Madoff multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

Local media outlets report that lawyers from a Westchester law firm delivered two checks totaling $10.8 million to Local 267 of the Plumbers and Steamfitters Union at its office in suburban DeWitt on Wednesday.

The union had invested $20.6 million directly or through investment funds in what turned out to be Madoff's long-running investment scams.

Union officials say they're hoping to recover the rest of its investment through the Madoff bankruptcy case. So far, more than $9 billion of the approximately $17 billion that Madoff took from investors has been recovered.

Other checks were delivered to the union's locals in Oswego and Binghamton.