On December 2, Tiffany Freeman, Tiesha Hamer, Lavinia Smith, LaDonna Turner and Britton Russia were charged in Hamilton County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas with forging more than $40,000 in checks belonging to Local 1 of the American Federation of Musicians. The alleged stolen amounts from the Cincinnati-based union are: Freeman, $2,260; Hamer, $749; Smith, $2,500; Turner, $15,800; and Russia, $21,309. Russia also was charged with receiving stolen property. The charges follow a probe by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
On November 15, Mary Lynn Otten, former secretary-treasurer of American Federation of Musicians Local 26, was charged in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois with filing false financial information on behalf of the Peoria union. She then pleaded guilty. The charge and guilty plea follow a probe by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
Juan Rios is a lucky man, all things considered. Rios, formerly secretary-treasurer of American Federation of Musicians Local 23, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas on October 27 to embezzling funds from the San Antonio union, which represents more than 200 employees who work in various South Texas music organizations, including the Symphony Society of San Antonio and the San Antonio Pocket Opera. He had been indicted in August for two counts of embezzlement in the amount of $15,407 and one count of possession of forged securities. He faces up to five years in prison at sentencing in March.
