John Setka faced dozens of criminal charges but Labor ignored the evidence

Victorian Labor and the CFMEU knew the former union boss John Setka had faced dozens and dozens of criminal charges including assaulting police and theft — and had been convicted of many of them.

John Setka's extraordinary criminal record was known to Victorian Labor and the CFMEU leadership as far back as 2012.

The extraordinary criminal rap sheet of former CFMEU boss John Setka was ignored by Labor and the union for well over a decade, with evidence he had faced 60 charges including theft, assaulting police and criminal ­damage.

The Australian revealed his Victoria Police criminal history sheet in 2012 – months before Mr Setka was elevated to the secretary position at the CFMEU’s construction division, where he wielded significant factional power within Labor and influence over the Victorian government.

The offences include assaulting police, assault by kicking, resisting arrest, using threatening words, theft, wilful damage, and wilful trespass and were among the charges that led to dozens of convictions.

They related only to the period between 1982 and 1991 and Mr Setka was convicted of more than 40 of the offences.

The rap sheet obtained by The Australian included Mr Setka’s prison number and fingerprint classification but it never stopped his rise to power, nor did it stop the state Labor government – under Jacinta Allan and Daniel Andrews – from dealing with his union.

The CFMEU construction division is now at the heart of serious allegations of potential corruption relating to the so-called Big Build, which refers to the ­ government’s infrastructure program, worth many tens of billions of dollars.

Under Victorian Labor, the CFMEU’s construction division has flourished although Ms Allan has vowed to fight any proven corruption and root out any links to outlaw motorcycle gangs.

Opposition federal workplace relations spokeswoman Michaelia Cash said Mr Setka’s track record was also known by Anthony Albanese. But she said the ALP still accepted donations from the union.

“Mr Albanese and Labor have known for more than 10 years the sort of person they were dealing with. Despite this, they have been happy to take millions of dollars of donations from the CFMEU for many years,’’ she said.

“Labor fought against the former Coalition government when we set up the Australian Building and Construction Commission and then abolished it when they got into government. Mr Albanese and Labor’s credibility and integrity in dealing with Mr Setka and the CFMEU has been completely destroyed.”

Mr Setka responded at the time by saying most of the charges related to picket line activity, some of which occurred under the former Builders’ Labourers Federation, the deregistered body that became the CFMEU construction division.

On the day before the original story was published, Mr Setka was found by The Australian at the well-known City Wine Shop opposite the Victorian parliament with high-profile gangland survivor Mick Gatto.

Mr Setka said at the time: “A lot of the charging was dismissed on appeal. You go to a picket line and you just get loaded up with a whole lot of charges.”

Ms Allan, after a slow start, has vowed to turn her guns on any illegal activity in the Victorian construction industry.

The row over Mr Setka and the CFMEU, provoked by a series of articles in The Age, threatens to be a defining moment for the state Labor government, which has been weighed down by a broken budget.

Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto said: “Premier Jacinta Allan has overseen a decade of rorts, misconduct and criminal activity on Victorian Big Build sites by the CFMEU.

 “These issues have been widely known for years but time and again Premier Allan turned a blind eye and emboldened those responsible for this behaviour.

 “Every Victorian is paying the price for this gross mismanagement and the person responsible for this debacle cannot be the one to fix it.”

Ms Allan said she would deal with any corruption.

“I am determined to pull out this rotten culture by its roots,’’ she said. “This demands urgent and immediate action.”

Master Builders Victoria chief executive Michaela Lihou said an independent regulator was needed.

“In the light of these allegations, it is clear our industry now needs an independent regulator, a place where concerned employers can report alleged instances of misconduct without the fear of ­reprisals,” she said.

Neither Mr Setka nor the CFMEU responded for comment in time for publication.