POLICE UNIONS / GOVERNMENT UNIONS
South Florida Corruption Scandal Grows
The sister of South Fla. union boss Walter
Browne was suspended without pay May 17 from her new job at the Broward
(Fla.) Sheriff's Office amid allegations she embezzled more than $100,000
from her old job at the union. Patty Browne Devaney joined the sheriff's
staff on Mar. 6, about the same time she was fired as administrative assistant
for the Nat'l Fed'n of Public & Private Employees which represents
nearly all of the sheriff's correctional officers and many municipal workers
in Broward and is controlled by her brother. Walter Browne said he told
second-in-command Dan Reynolds to fire Devaney after an internal audit
discovered that well over $100,000 was missing.
The union filed a criminal complaint with the Plantation Police Dep't, but she was reportedly still on the union payroll for a few weeks after joining the sheriff's department. Sheriff's officials said they found out about the union problems only after Devaney was hired for the $49,529-a-year job as a "research and development coordinator." The allegations, coupled with uncertainty surrounding a federal inquiry of Walter Browne and the union, reportedly led to the suspension.
The federal probe seems to be directed at Browne, an ex-commissioner on the defunct Port Everglades Authority, according to his lawyer and federal officials. Hvide Marine Inc., a company for which he worked as a consultant, was charged May 15 with making an illegal payment of $60,000 to Browne. It is illegal for companies to pay money to union bosses who have the power to organize workers. A federal grand jury has issued dozens of subpoenas to his friends and for his business dealings with the School Board and the County Commission. Reynolds was subpoenaed to a federal grand jury about six weeks ago, but refused to testify. "I didn't answer any questions on the advice of my attorney (Fred Haddad) because it looked like they were on a fishing expedition," Reynolds said.
Devaney assured Browne that she'd done nothing "stupid," he said, but he still ordered Reynolds to look "at everything she ever touched." Browne said his sister wrote checks on union accounts and was able to avoid detection by the union's auditors. "The auditors said it was very, very creative. It didn't send any red flags up," Browne said. Reynolds said the union's insurance company will probably cover the loss. [Sun-Sent. (Ft. Lauderdale) 5/18/00]
Union Corruption Update is made possible by the generous contributions from readers like you. NLPC, P.O. Box 6273, McLean, VA 22106-6273. Thank you.
In addition to the unions and organizations covered in this Union Corruption Update, readers can look forward to news and information on other corrupt and abusive unions in future editions.
All back issues of the Union Corruption Update can be viewed at NLPC's website (www.nlpc.org). Also available is a union-by-union and state-by-state index of all Union Corruption Update articles.
If you have story ideas or suggestions for future editions of Union Corruption Update, please email NLPC at nlpc@nlpc.org. Thank you.
Union Corruption Update is part of NLPC's Organized Labor Accountability Project which is investigating and exposing corruption and extremism in the Teamsters, LIUNA, AFL-CIO and many other union organizations. NLPC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit foundation promoting ethics and accountability in government through research, education and legal action.
Union Corruption Update Article Index (by Union)
Union Corruption Update Article Index (by State)
Organized Labor Accountability Project