On January 7, Connie Sayne, former financial secretary of United Auto Workers Local 3050, was charged in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana with embezzling $25,699.53 in funds from the Hagerstown, Ind. union. Sayne, 51, a resident of nearby Connersville, Ind., during June 2010-April 2012 allegedly wrote 64 unauthorized union checks to herself. The union represents employees of Autocar, a Hagerstown-based manufacturer of garbage trucks. The charge follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
On April 16, Charlotta Hammons, former business representative of United Auto Workers Local 2209, was sentenced in the Superior Court of Huntington County, Indiana to one year of probation, including 120 days of house arrest/electronic monitoring, for converting funds from the Roanoke, Ind.-based union to personal use without authorization. She also was ordered to pay fees and costs totaling $266. Hammons already has paid restitution in the amount of $1,329 after pleading guilty in March. The guilty plea and sentencing follow an investigation by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
On April 9, Patricia Race, former president of United Auto Workers Local 959, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio to six months probation and ordered to pay a $250 fine for filing false financial data on behalf of the Fremont, Ohio-based union. She had been charged in November. No information is available as to the date of a finding or plea of guilt. The actions follow a probe by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
On January 15, Joya Mills, former financial secretary of Local 2500 of the United Auto Workers, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to one year of probation and 50 hours of community service, and ordered to pay a $25 assessment, for failure to maintain financial records following her theft of funds from the Detroit-based local. She previously had paid $11,600 in restitution. Mills pled guilty last October. The actions follow a probe by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
On November 21, Patricia Race, former president of United Auto Workers Local 959, was charged in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division, with one count of failing to disclose a material fact in the Fremont, Ohio (near Sandusky) union's annual financial report. The charge follows a probe by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
On October 3, Joya Mills, former financial secretary of United Auto Workers Local 2500, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to one count of failure to maintain records of the Detroit union. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
On August 24, Linda Caldwell, former financial secretary of United Auto Workers Local 383, pleaded guilty in Berrien County (Mich.) Circuit Court to embezzlement in the amount of $700 from the Benton Harbor union. She then was ordered to pay a fine of $435. Previously, she had made full restitution. Caldwell had been charged ten days earlier on August 14. The actions follow a probe by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of labor-Management Standards.
On June 27, Linda Purdy, former president of United Auto Workers Local 708, was charged in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan with one count of making false entries in records of the Durand, Mich.-based union to conceal her preparation and submission of unauthorized time vouchers, enabling her to collect $2,787.40. On the same day, the former financial secretary of the local, Dennis Clayton, was charged with records fraud facilitating his receipt of $1,186.80. The charges follow an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
On May 21, Thomas Coffey, former president of United Auto Workers Local 912, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky to one count of making false statements in the Lexington-based union's records during 2005-08. He then was sentenced to two years of probation and 100 hours of community service, and ordered to pay $7,358.21 in restitution and a $25 assessment. The guilty plea and sentencing follow an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
On April 17, Thomas Coffey, former president of United Auto Workers Local 912, was charged in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky with making false entries in financial records of the Lexington-based union for the years 2005-08. The charge follows a probe by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
