Carl Horowitz

On March 24, Simiel Campbell, former president of Transport Workers Union Local 2014, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to one count of making a false statement in a union financial statement.  He had been charged in a superseding indictment this March after his original indictment in December 2013 for embezzling $19,433 in funds from the Chicago union.  The actions follow an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… Read More ➡

On March 17, Arthur Boedecker Jr., former vice president of Utility Workers Union of America Local 270, was indicted in the Court of Common Pleas, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, for receiving unauthorized payments from the Brooklyn Heights union in the amount of $40,203. The indictment follows a probe by the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… Read More ➡

Considering what she had been accused of stealing, Sharon Holmes should consider herself lucky.  On March 15, Holmes, former secretary-treasurer of American Postal Workers Union Local 807, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina to one count of embezzling $41,823.  She had been indicted last September not only for embezzlement in this amount, but also for wire fraud in the sum of $178,330.  The actions follow an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… Read More ➡

David M. Lewis for a while seemed as resourceful in his billing as he was in his drilling.  But in the end, the Sacramento dentist was too clever by a half.  On January 11, Lewis pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California to defrauding a Teamster-sponsored health care plan for United Parcel Service employees out of at least $1 million in unnecessary or nonexistent work.  He had been indicted on 18 counts in February 2014 following a probe by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Inspector General and Employee Benefits Security Administration, plus the California Attorney General’s Office and Dental Board.  A former Lewis employee, Nichol (Ramirez) Lomack, earlier had pled guilty.

According to court documents, Lewis, now 62, in late 2008 or early 2009 began targeting UPS employees for dental work who had 100 percent coverage, with no annual limit, under the Northern California Teamsters … Read More ➡

On March 14, Timothy Casperson, former treasurer of National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 249, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan to one year of probation for embezzling $9,650 in funds from the Menominee (Upper Peninsula) union.  He also was ordered to complete 200 hours of community service, and to pay a $500 fine and a $100 special assessment.  Casperson already has paid restitution in the amount of $10,062.  Casperson pleaded guilty last December following his indictment last June.  The actions follow a probe by the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… Read More ➡

On March 10, Esther LaFontant, former bookkeeper for United Association of Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 12, was charged in Suffolk County (Mass.) Superior Court with three counts of theft totaling approximately $155,000 from the Boston-based union.  She also was charged with falsifying entries in the books of her accounting firm.  The charges follow a joint investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards and the Massachusetts State Police.… Read More ➡

Patrick Santeramo’s union career ended several years ago, but the fallout continues.  On April 22, Santeramo, who had run the Broward Teachers Union for a decade, was sentenced in Fort Lauderdale federal court to 18 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release, for wire fraud in a school district-funded, union-run program.  He also was ordered to pay $93,800 in restitution and a $4,000 fine.  The prison term will run consecutive to a five-year sentence handed down days earlier in a state case involving allegations of contractor kickbacks and false reimbursements.  Santeramo was convicted in January by a jury in the state case; he pleaded guilty in February in the federal case.  The actions follow a probe by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Inspector General.

Union Corruption Update, back in July 2012 and again this March, summarized the travails of Pat Santeramo.  Now 68, Santeramo … Read More ➡

Like any businessman, Steven Pagliarini wanted to minimize his labor costs. But he also shortchanged laborers in the process. On April 15, Pagliarini, an executive of two Rhode Island landscaping and nursery firms, one union and the other nonunion, was sentenced in Providence federal court to three years of probation for conducting a scheme for avoiding payment of scheduled benefits to union employees. In addition, he concealed the employment status of nonunion workers from a state agency so as to pay employees with unemployment checks. The information had contained four charges – three for document falsification and one for wire fraud. As part of his sentence, he must pay restitution totaling $171,695.22. Pagliarini pled guilty on January 28 after announcing his intent to do so on January 4.

The scheme, in essence, was a case of ‘double-breasting.’ This is a well-known practice by which a unionized contractor creates a separate … Read More ➡

On March 15, Kenneth Potter, former treasurer of the South Dakota chapter of National Staff Organization, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota for embezzling $4,130 in funds from the Pierre, S.D.-based union.  The indictment follows a probe by the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.  National Staff Organization, based in Lincoln, Neb., represents several thousand personnel in a wide range of unions.… Read More ➡

On March 24, Terry Aters, former treasurer of United Steelworkers Local 7686, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to one count of embezzling $153,434 in funds from the Marston, Mo.-based union.  Aters had been indicted last October.  The actions follow a probe by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… Read More ➡