On April 7, April Franklin, formerly office secretary for United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 333 and former bookkeeper for the union's apprenticeship fund, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan to embezzling a combined more than $400,000 from the Lansing-based labor organizations. An employee of the union during 1999-2009, she was charged this January with her husband in the theft of $234,331.33 from the training fund and $40,886 from the union general fund during 2008-09. The plea agreement also refers to her stealing additional funds, bringing the total to $411,979.37. She is set for sentencing on July 25. The indictment and guilty plea follow an investigation by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards, Office of Inspector General and Employee Benefits Security Administration.
If you were a contractor doing business with United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 9, there was a good way to avoid financial problems: Write checks to Peter Lomauro and don't ask questions. Now Lomauro is finding himself having to answer a few questions from federal prosecutors. Lomauro, a business agent for the Englishtown, N.J. (Monmouth County) union, 
On July 7, Mechelle Busse, aka Mechelle Singleton, formerly office manager of United Association of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Local 568, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi to three years of probation, the first six months to be in home confinement, for embezzling around $110,000 during June 2005-December 2007 from the Gulfport union. She also was ordered to make $51,169.65 in restitution and pay a $100 special assessment. Her restitution would have been higher were it not for the fact that federal prosecutors could not prove she had stolen more. Busse had pleaded guilty in February. The guilty plea and sentencing follow an investigation by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
Problem gambling has been the downfall of more than one labor official in this country. You can add Teresa Wilson to the long and growing list. Wilson, formerly office manager of United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 41, pleaded guilty on May 16 in Missoula, Montana federal court to stealing a combined sum of anywhere from $171,300 to $219,319 from the local and the Central Labor Council (CLC). She had been indicted on March 21 for embezzlement, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Sentencing is set for September 7 during which time she remains free. She faces up to 30 years in prison.
On January 13, April Franklin, former office secretary of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 333 and former bookkeeper for the union's apprenticeship training fund, was charged in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan with thefts totaling slightly over $275,000 from the two labor organizations. She allegedly stole $40,886 from the Lansing-based union and $234,331.33 from the training fund. The charges follow a joint probe by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards, Office of Inspector General, and Employee Benefits Security Administration.
On February 8, Mechelle Busse, aka Mechelle Singleton, former office manager of United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 568, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi to embezzling slightly over $110,000 in funds from the Gulfport union. She had been indicted in August for taking the money during June 2005-December 2007. She originally pleaded not guilty. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
Bribery was Robert Rybak's way of doing business. Unfortunately, business is now closed. On January 20, Rybak, formerly business manager-financial secretary for Journeymen Plumbers Union Local 55, 
