On April 9, Benjamin Wisecarver, former president of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 264, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to five months in prison, five months of home confinement and two years of probation for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and embezzlement in the amount of $57,310 from the Hampton-based union. He also was ordered to pay $53,704 in restitution. Wisecarver had pleaded guilty last December after being indicted on multiple counts in October. The actions follow an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards and Office of Inspector General.… Read More ➡ “Virginia IATSE President Sentenced for Fraud and Embezzlement”
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.
NTEU President in San Francisco Indicted for False Record-Keeping
On March 26, Jonathon Ortino, former president of National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 165, was charged in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California with making false statements in the San Francisco union’s financial reports for fiscal years 2014, 2015 and 2016. The indictment follows an investigation by the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… Read More ➡ “NTEU President in San Francisco Indicted for False Record-Keeping”
ILWU Secretary-Treasurer in Hawaii Indicted
On April 11, Charles Kimo Brown, former secretary-treasurer of International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 142, Hawaii Longshore Division, was indicted in Honolulu federal court on two counts each of embezzlement totaling $1,575 from the union and concealment of the thefts in union financial records. According to prosecutors, Brown, now 60, a resident of Mililani, during December 2009-April 2014 received “lost time” reimbursements from the local when in fact these were hours during which worked for his regular employer. The union represents about 1,000 Hawaii dockworkers. The indictment follows a probe by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… Read More ➡ “ILWU Secretary-Treasurer in Hawaii Indicted”
Proposed Oregon Law Would Subsidize Public-Employee Unions
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 5-4 Janus decision last June, which barred public-sector unions from forcibly exacting dues from nonmembers, various states have gotten creative in circumventing the ruling. Oregon is emerging as a leader. Early in the year, a state lawmaker, acting on a request by a school employees union, introduced House Bill 2643, authorizing the establishment of a special fund from which public employers would collect dues and then pass them along to unions. A dissenting worker would have no way to opt out. Aside from showing contempt for worker liberty, the measure runs contrary to the law. The bill for now is in committee, but given the Democratic Party (i.e., pro-union) majority in both legislative houses, passage is a distinct possibility.
Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31 was the most significant Supreme Court decision on … Read More ➡ “Proposed Oregon Law Would Subsidize Public-Employee Unions”
New Orleans-Area UFCW President Charged with Theft
Mark Douglas billed his union for reimbursements for nonworking hours. Unfortunately for the union, that amounted to theft. Yesterday, April 9, Douglas, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1101, was charged in an information count in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana with embezzling $7,078.35 in funds from the Arabi (near New Orleans)-based union related to his allegedly filing of fake “lost time” claims over a more than three-year period. The union represents employees of Domino Sugar. The charge follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.
According to court documents, Douglas, now 71, a resident of New Orleans, during November 11, 2011-January 17, 2015 filed “lost time” claims for a variety of unauthorized purposes. Normally, only business-related activities such as arbitration, visits to an attorney, or negotiations with Domino Sugar are eligible for reimbursement. These claims were unrelated to work. … Read More ➡ “New Orleans-Area UFCW President Charged with Theft”
Massachusetts IATSE Local Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Theft
Ivar Carlson apparently pushed his luck too long. On March 26, Carlson, former business agent and treasurer of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local B-935, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to one count of embezzling funds from the now-defunct Worcester union in the sum of $37,014. He had been arrested and charged in December following an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.
IATSE Local B-935 represented about 30 workers at the DCU Center in downtown Worcester. With Ivar Carlson handling their dues money, those workers were ripped off. Court records indicate that Carlson, 58, a resident of Auburn, Mass., during March 2007-September 2016 used his positions to write checks from the union bank account, cash the checks, and use the funds for unauthorized purposes. Eventually, the Department of Labor traced the shortfall of funds to Carlson and referred … Read More ➡ “Massachusetts IATSE Local Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Theft”
UFCW Secretary-Treasurers in Brooklyn Plead Guilty to Racketeering
Vincent D’Acunto Jr. knew a lot of Mafia guys who got things done. But even the mob couldn’t bail him out this time. On March 18, D’Acunto, former secretary-treasurer of the Brooklyn, N.Y.-based United Food and Commercial Workers Local 2D, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to racketeering conspiracy. A week earlier, on March 11, Frank Cognetta, former secretary-treasurer of the UFCW Local 1D, also Brooklyn-based, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to racketeering. Each had been arrested and indicted in January 2018, along with two Genovese crime family enforcers, Vincent Esposito and Steven Arena, who did D’Acunto’s dirty work, plus another Genovese mobster. The actions follow a joint investigation by the FBI, the NYPD and the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards and Office of Inspector General.
United Food and Commercial Workers Locals 1D and 2D each represent wine and distillery workers. They also were corrupt. According to … Read More ➡ “UFCW Secretary-Treasurers in Brooklyn Plead Guilty to Racketeering”
UAW Vice President Charged in Chrysler Scandal; Pleads Guilty
For a while, Norwood Jewell managed to avoid prosecution in the Fiat Chrysler-United Auto Workers pay-to-play scandal that so far has produced over a half-dozen convictions. But his run of good luck has ended. Yesterday, April 2, Jewell, a UAW vice president until last year, pleaded guilty in Detroit federal court to spending anywhere from $40,000 to $70,000 from funds stolen from the Chrysler-funded National Training Center. He had been charged on March 18. His offenses were part of a wide-ranging probe into a years-long pattern of bribery and embezzlement involving an estimated $4.5 million in NTC funds. Jewell is set for sentencing in August. The latest charges loom especially significant given that the UAW’s current contract with Chrysler, General Motors and Ford expires in September.
Union Corruption Update has described this investigation on numerous occasions since the initial indictments came down in July 2017. Certain officials at the Auburn … Read More ➡ “UAW Vice President Charged in Chrysler Scandal; Pleads Guilty”
AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer in Indianapolis Indicted for Theft
On March 15, Charlotte McDaniel, former secretary-treasurer of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3826, was indicted in Marion County, Indiana Superior Court on three counts of theft from the Indianapolis union in a sum of between $750 and $50,000. The union represents Indianapolis public school bus drivers. The indictment follows a probe by the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards. Ms. McDaniel, it should be noted, has a “history.” Back in August 2015, she pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery for hitting an unruly 14-year-old female student with a broom handle while on her afternoon bus route about a year and a half earlier. One wonders if she has a future.… Read More ➡ “AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer in Indianapolis Indicted for Theft”
Steelworkers Secretary in Indiana Pleads Guilty to Theft
On February 27, Darin Kingrey, former financial secretary of United Steelworkers Local 706, pleaded guilty in Vermillion County, Indiana Circuit Court to two counts of theft totaling $7,464 from the Cayuga, Ind.-based union. The plea follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… Read More ➡ “Steelworkers Secretary in Indiana Pleads Guilty to Theft”