Will the ILA case go to trial?(International Longshoremen's Association)

BYLINE: BY JOSEPH BONNEY

If you believe the Justice Department, the government's civil racketeering lawsuit against the International Longshoremen's Association is a necessary antidote to a half-century of organized-crime domination of the ILA and waterfront businesses.

If you believe attorneys for the ILA and its top officials and benefit funds, the government's case is a hash of unsubstantiated allegations that combine isolated incidents over many years into baseless claims of a Mafia-run "waterfront enterprise."

U.S. District Judge I. Leo Glasser heard both sides' arguments last week at a daylong hearing in Brooklyn on defense motions to dismiss the 2-year-old lawsuit, which seeks to oust top union officials and place the ILA and its largest benefit programs under court-appointed …