International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)

Cincinnati Contractors Sentenced for Defrauding Local

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 10/23/2006 - 00:00

On September 22, Rachetta Johnson and Charlene Monroe, co-owners of a contracting firm, Electrical Innovations, each were sentenced in Hamilton County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas, to five years probation and 500 hours of community service for their roles in defrauding a market recovery fund of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 212. The fund assists union contractors in bidding for jobs against non-union contractors by enabling contractors to collect wage difference. Johnson and Monroe conducted an invoice overpayment scam. During July 2002-December 2003, they billed the local for hours that members hadn’t worked. Earlier in the month, the pair pleaded guilty to theft by deception. At their sentencing, the court also ordered them to pay $26,448 in restitution. Another defendant, Michael Griffie, has been charged with theft of at least $100,000 in property or services.

Detroit Ex-Local Secretary Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 10/09/2006 - 00:00

On August 29, Linda Holden, former financial secretary-treasurer for Local 639 of the United Steelworkers of America, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to one count of embezzlement of union funds in the amount of $74,090. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards. USWA Local 639 previously had been affiliated with the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers (PACE), where it was known as Local 6-639. The change in affiliation is due to a merger, approved in April 2005, of the Steelworkers and PACE. The new umbrella organization is known as the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union. (OLMS, 9/25/06).

Former Local Business Agent in Southern Minnesota Charged

Office Manager for Duluth Local Indicted for Embezzlement

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 09/25/2006 - 00:00

Kathryn L. Stark had an 11-year run stealing funds from Local 31 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. But the former office manager of the Duluth, Minn.-based local ran out of luck sometime after that. A federal grand jury in Minneapolis on September 11 indicted Stark, 49, a resident of Superior, Wisconsin, on charges that during 1993-2004 she stole more than $50,000 from the union. Two other persons also were indicted in the case, the result of an investigation by the Labor Department. Local 31 represents utility workers in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. (Duluth News-Tribune, 9/12/06).

Cleveland Ex-Local Secretary Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement

Ex-Local Bookkeeper in Oregon Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 05/22/2006 - 00:00

On April 14, Deann Schnepple, ex-bookkeeper for LIUNA District Council of Oregon, Southern Idaho and Wyoming, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to an information count charging her with embezzling $44,758 in district funds. Sentencing has been set for June. (OLMS, 5/16/06).

GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES (AFGE)

Pittsburgh Local Ex-President, Secretary Charged with Theft

Chicago-Area Local Secretary Sentenced for Embezzlement

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 05/08/2006 - 00:00

On March 31, Donald Hutchinson, former financial secretary for Local 763-C of the Chemical Workers, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to one year of supervision and three years probation for embezzling union funds. He was ordered to pay $103,248 in restitution to the local. The sentencing follows an investigation by the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards. (OLMS, 4/29/06).

Kansas Financial Officer Sentenced, Another Pleads Guilty

Southern California Ex-Secretary Sentenced for Embezzlement

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 04/24/2006 - 00:00

Leslie Patricia Bell found out the price of stealing from a union treasury: 18 months in federal prison, three years probation, and $156,423 in restitution. Bell, 39, had pleaded guilty last May to charges she embezzled funds from Local 1184 of the Laborers International Union of North America, which represents construction, groundskeeping and maintenance workers in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Bell had been responsible for paying union bills and depositing membership dues at the union’s local office in Riverside. Her thefts began in May 2001 and lasted until her firing in July 2003. Most of Bell’s haul took the form of membership dues paid in cash. She also admitted forging the name of her then-husband, the union president, on two checks totaling $22,028. She used the money to pay off credit card debt and federal taxes, according to her plea bargain.

ACLU Gets on Board in Support of Union Democracy in Wash. State

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 04/25/2005 - 00:00

Seeking to uphold union democracy, the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and Public Citizen filed suit on April 14 backing the free speech rights of a union member running for office. The suit was filed on behalf of Joseph Hughes to secure his right to speak with fellow members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

Calif. Unions Find Loophole through Landrum-Griffin

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 03/28/2005 - 01:00

Los Angeles union chief Miguel Contreras and other union officials have tapped Hollywood studios, energy companies and other large corporations for hefty donations to finance its activities over the last eight years. In doing so, they have apparently found a loophole in the Landrum-Griffin Act, reports the Los Angles Times.

Created in 1997 to conduct voter registration, educate voters and campaign for ballot measures, the Voter Improvement Program (VIP) had the advantage of being able to receive unlimited donations. Unions have not been able to directly receive corporate donations for almost 60 years, as a result of congressional reaction to corruption scandals.

Ex-Treasurer Admits Embezzlement in Del. Fed. Court

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 03/28/2005 - 01:00

On February 17, in the U.S. District Court for Delaware, Julie Messick, the former treasurer of Local 2001, United Bhd. of Carpenters, entered a guilty plea by plea agreement to one count of a five-count indictment. She pled guilty to embezzling union funds. Messick had previously made restitution in the amount of $9,164. She further stipulated in the plea agreement that she will make additional restitution in the amount of $2,629.85. On December 7, 2004, Messick was charged following an investigation by the Philadelphia District Office of the U.S. Office of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [OLMS, 3/4/05]

Frmr. Bus. Mgr. Resentenced after Failing to Abide by 1st Sentence

Ex-Secy.-Treasurer Sentenced in Wash. Fed. Court

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 07/19/2004 - 00:00

On July 8, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the West. Dist. of Wash., Linda Stewart, frmr. secy.-treasurer of Graphic Communications Local 182-C (now known as Local 767-M), was sentenced to 5 yrs. supervised probation with 6 mos. to be spent in home detention with electronic monitoring. Stewart was also ordered to pay $65,005 in restitution. Stewart pled guilty on Feb. 6, 2004, to a 1 count information charging her with embezzlement. The conviction follows an investigation by the Seattle Dist. Ofc. of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor Mgmt. Standards and the Dept. of Labor's Ofc.