Union Corruption Update
Since 1997, NLPC has become a high-profile and credible source for information about America’s labor unions through our publication Union Corruption Update.
The newsletter has been referenced in many other media outlets including the New York Times, Chicago Tribune and National Journal.
On May 1, Michael Zaborski, former secretary-treasurer for United Transportation Union Local 1962, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on one count of embezzlement in the amount of $41,226.54 from the Fremont, Ohio (Sandusky County)-based union. The charge follows a probe by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
On April 24, Oscar Berry, former president of Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers International Union Local 284, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas to embezzling $124,181.77 in funds from the Longview-based union. The plea follows a probe by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
On April 23, Wayne Bowdoin, former president of Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA) Local 709, was charged in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana with embezzlement of funds from the Houma, La.-based union in the amount of $16,367.96. The charge follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
On April 19, Tracey Tigner, former office secretary for International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 91, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana to embezzlement of an unspecified sum of funds from a council affiliate, IUPAT Local 460 in Merrillville, Ind. (Lake County). She had been indicted in February. The actions follow a probe by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Inspector General and Office of Labor-Management Standards.
On April 24, Harold Washington, former president of National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) Chapter 105, was charged in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California with one count of knowingly failing to include information on allowances and disbursements in a financial report filed by the Chula Vista-based union to the U.S. Labor Department. He then pleaded guilty that day. The charge and guilty plea follow a joint probe by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards and the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Professional Responsibility.
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 11, Bonnie Nixon, former secretary-treasurer of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge W443, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi to embezzling $15,981.66 in funds from the Laurel-based union. She had been indicted in December. The actions follow an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
On April 10, Jeffrey Beresford, business manager and financial secretary for United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 83, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia to falsifying records of the Wheeling local. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
On April 10, Joseph Grygorcewicz, former secretary-treasurer of United Transportation Union Local 1566, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York to three years of probation and ordered to make full restitution for embezzling nearly $40,000 from the Tonawanda, N.Y.-based union during late 2009-early 2011. He also was ordered to undergo counseling for compulsive gambling. Grygorcewicz, a resident of Amherst, N.Y., had pleaded guilty last November. The union represents railroad workers in the Buffalo area. The actions follow a probe by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
Considering the kind of people who belong, police unions typically aren't where theft happens. But Donald Liburd apparently wasn't typical. On March 15, Liburd, now 48, formerly the president of the St. Thomas-St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands Police Benevolent Association (PBA) and a detective on the local police force, 
On April 9, Grace Rathke, former office manager for Laborers International Union of North America Local 32, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to 17 months in prison and three years of probation for embezzling more than $190,000 in funds from the Rockford-based union during November 2004-March 2009. She also was ordered to pay restitution in an amount exceeding $200,000. Rathke had been indicted in August 2011, and pled guilty this past January. The actions follow an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards and Office of Inspector General.
On April 9, Richard Ikerd, former secretary-treasurer of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2568, was sentenced in the Third Judicial Circuit Court of Wayne County, Michigan to 90 days in jail and five years probation for embezzling funds from the Melvindale, Mich.-based union in an amount between $1,000 and $20,000. He also was ordered to pay $16,065 in restitution plus fees totaling $1,198. Ikerd pled guilty last October after being charged in July. The actions follow a probe by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
The coffers of Metal Polishers Local 8A-28A are due for replenishment. Members are hoping they don't have to wait too long. On April 9, Hector Lopez, former president of the Long Island City (Queens), N.Y.-based union, 
Joseph Lombardo isn't a pro basketball player. But a number of people who play the game for a living aren't very pleased with his approach to managing their union's finances. Neither is the Justice Department. On Thursday, April 25, 
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 April 8, Barbara Holland, former bookkeeper-secretary for United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 62, was charged in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division, with false entry in or willful concealment of financial records of the Castroville, Calif. union. The charge follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
On April 8, Caleb Gray-Burriss, founder-president of the National Association of Special Police and Security Officers (NASPSO), was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to 76 months in prison, to be followed by 36 months of supervised probation, for multiple acts of mail fraud and embezzlement against the Washington, D.C.-based union and its benefit funds totaling $252,376.42. He also will have to pay full restitution and perform 100 hours of community service. Gray-Burriss had been found guilty by a jury in December following a protracted legal battle against federal authorities, extensively documented in Union Corruption Update. The actions follow a probe by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards, Employee Benefits Security Administration and Office of Inspector General.
The AFL-CIO normally is quick to defend the interests of its 57 member unions. But the Washington, D.C.-based labor federation seems happy to make an exception in the case of the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Council. And the reason lies with the union's objections to the new Senate proposal to grant amnesty to virtually all 11 million or more illegal immigrants and expand work visa availability. In its current form, argue council officials, the measure would hamstring ICE agents from protecting the public from dangerous criminals. Toward that end, Council President Chris Crane and nine other members last August filed suit against three top immigration officials in their carrying out of a June executive order by President Obama.
On April 8, Cynthia Yancey, former secretary-treasurer of American Federation of Government Employees Local 3840, was indicted in the Hamilton County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas on one count of theft of funds in an unspecified amount from the Cincinnati-based union. The indictment follows a probe by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
One only can guess where Cora Carper spent all that money. On April 5, Carper, a former clerical employee at the Lanham, Md. headquarters of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland to embezzling funds from a union-sponsored political action committee (PAC). She had been indicted by a grand jury last November following an investigation by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards. She faces up to five years in prison plus forfeiture of stolen money at her June 4 sentencing.
