Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees

On June 13, Amar Ali, former secretary-treasurer of Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Sub-Lodge 695, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to two years probation for failing to properly maintain union records. He also was ordered to pay a $500 fine and a $25 special assessment. Ali previously had paid restitution in the amount of $1,986.29. He had pleaded guilty in January. The offense had been committed in Pennsylvania, but the union is based in Baltimore. The sentencing follows an investigation by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.

On July 12, Derrick George, formerly secretary-treasurer for Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Local 76, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia for embezzlement of $19,287.42 from the Leon, W.Va. union. George, 29, a resident of Vinton, Ohio, allegedly took the money during January-November 2009. The indictment follows a joint investigation by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards and Office of Inspector General.

On April 15, Michael Curry, formerly secretary-treasurer of Local Lodge 1127 of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas to stealing funds from the Texarkana union. According to prosecutors, Curry made unauthorized check withdrawals to himself totaling $6,996.55 from the union bank account to pay off delinquent mortgage and car loans. Released on his own recognizance, he faces up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

On November 22, Frank Kmiec, former secretary-treasurer for Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Local 2857, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to making false entries in union financial records in connection with his theft of $19,461.39 in union funds. He had been charged on November 2. The local is based in Genoa City, Wisconsin (Kenosha County), just north of the Illinois border. The actions follow a probe by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.