Britton Russia

Cincinnati Musicians Union Employees Sentenced for Forgery

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Fri, 06/25/2010 - 17:22

On April 23, Britton Russia, an employee of American Federation of Musicians Local 1 in Cincinnati, pleaded guilty in the Hamilton County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas to six counts of forging union checks and was sentenced to one year in jail. A few weeks earlier, on March 16, a fellow local employee, Lavinia Smith, was sentenced to 180 days in jail (suspended) and placed on one year of probation for attempted forgery of union checks. She also will have to make $2,500 in restitution plus court costs. The guilty plea and sentences follow an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.

Five Charged with Thefts from Cincinnati Musicians Union

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 16:27

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.

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