ULLICO pres. and ex-chief of the AFL-CIO's Bldg. & Construction Trades Dept., Robert Georgine, allowed the union boss directors to buy and sell ULLICO stock before its value was reset at the beginning of each year. Thus, with ULLICO's stock highly leveraged on the telecom firm Global Crossing, directors could buy ULLICO stock "low," before its value rose along with Global Crossing's in 1999. As the telecom bubble deflated in 2000 and 2001, they were allowed to sell back their stock "high," before its price was readjusted downward as Global Crossing spiraled toward the 4th largest bankruptcy in history. But ULLICO's rules only allowed individuals, with a relatively small number of shares, to participate. As a result, the huge union pension funds, which largely own ULLICO, were stuck with its falling stock.

With a fed. grand jury investigating the scheme, ULLICO directors appointed ex-Ill. Gov. James Thompson on April 29 to conduct an internal review of the sales. Georgine and the other directors appear to have disliked Thompson's result. On Sept. 11, the Board voted to limit access to the report, with the directors allowed to hear Thompson speak about it, but not allowed to read it themselves. Thompson objected, and ULLICO decided to make it available for directors to read at Thompson's law ofc. a week before Thompson was to formally deliver the report at a Nov. 20 board meeting.

But just days before, Georgine cancelled the ULLICO board meeting, and Thompson wrote a letter to all ULLICO board members, offering to present the report to them individually. But even Thompson agreed with ULLICO lawyers that the report is protected by attorney/client privilege, thus keeping it out of the hands of the U.S. Attny. for Wash., D.C. Thompson told the Wall Street Journal that the 70-plus page report recommends changes in "corporate governance procedures."

Experts on corporate responsibility say that directors have a legal obligation to discuss such reports of potential wrongdoing among themselves. Another defense that ULLICO board members are now hiding behind is that the ULLICO purchase of Global Crossing stock was made by paid investment advisers, thus relieving the union officials of responsibility. But acc. to Aaron Bernstein of Business Week, those advisers were never informed of Georgine's letter to the board offering the ULLICO stock to them before its price was readjusted to reflect the company's investment in the then-booming Global Crossing.

Ominously, Thompson agreed to delay until Nov. 26 his presentation of the report, so that Thomas Green, a criminal lawyer just retained by ULLICO, could "provide Mr. Thompson with information about the situation," acc. to Wall Street Journal reporter Tom Hamburger.

POLICE UNIONS
Houston Union Agrees to Return Charity Funds never Given to Toys for Tots
A Houston-area deputies union has agreed to hand over funds it raised, ostensibly for the Marine Corps Toys for Tots Fndtn., but which union officials pocketed.

The settlement of the deceptive trade lawsuit filed last year by County Attny. Mike Stafford and Attny. Gen. and senator-elect John Cornyn was agreed to by State District Judge Bruce Oakley on Nov. 8. The Harris County Deputies' Organization admitted no wrongdoing, but agreed to pay $60,756 to Toys for Tots, and $63,500 in civil penalties and attny. fees. Union fund-raiser Ron Kowalsky was ordered to pay $100,000, including $70,000 to Toys for Tots. Telemarketer John Merritt will have to pay $50,500, with $20,000 going to the charity. In total, the union, Kowalsky and Merritt will have to pay $274,756, with $150,756 going to Toys for Tots

From 1998 until Dec. 2000, the union used telemarketers who told donors that they were collecting on behalf of Toys for Tots. But acc. to Asst. County Attny. Roberta Lloyd, union officials never informed the Marine Corps of their fund-raising. Only after the investigation started did the deputies union donate a mere $1,700 in bicycles to Toys for Tots.

Ed Christensen, president of the union, claimed that Kowalsky and Merritt used Toys for Tots without the knowledge of himself or anyone else in the union hierarchy. But evidence in the civil suit includes "thank you" letters to donors that Christensen himself signed in 1998, ‘99, and 2000. When shown these letters, Christensen claimed to have never seen them, and that if he had signed them, it was on the advice of an attny. Harris County D.A. Chuck Rosenthal is considering criminal action in the matter. [Houston Chronicle 11/9/02]

GOVERNMENT WORKERS (AFSCME)
HI State Union Chief Convicted of Fraud, Embezzlement
United Public Workers (UPW) chief Gary Rodrigues was found guilty by a Honolulu jury on Nov. 19 of fraud and embezzlement that cost UPW members nearly $200,000. Rodrigues reacted by pointing at the fed. prosecutors and saying, "Get a good look at their faces, remember their faces," then later grabbing a microphone from a reporter's hand and smashing it on the ground.

Rodrigues was convicted of accepting kickbacks from 1996-2000 from insurers who did business with the union, which is affiliated with the Amer. Fedn. of State, County & Municipal Employees. Rodrigues also set up consultant contracts with family and friends, supposedly to review the union's benefits programs, but who did little actual work. Also convicted was Rodrigues' daughter, Robin Sabatini, who formed her own company, Four Winds RSK Inc. to take on the union business referred by her father, but spent only one to four days a month on her business, while making more than $142,000 a year.

During the trial, fed. prosecutors presented testimony from Rodrigues' ex-girlfriend and an insurance agent about the agent's weekly payments to Rodrigues, and Rodrigues' payment of "consulting" fees to the girlfriend's father to repay a personal loan. Sabatini's frmr. employer testified  to her "consulting" contracts with her father. The two defendants' lawyers called no witnesses, but argued that prosecutors had failed to prove their case.

It took the jury 15 minutes to read their guilty verdicts on all 101 criminal charges against Rodrigues and Sabatini. Rodrigues' lawyer said he would appeal the convictions. [Honolulu Advertiser 11/20/02]

Uncovered Audit Reveals More Problems in NYC's DC37
A three-year-old audit of a NYC local govt. union came to light in early Nov., revealing unexplained cash payments to the union's frmr. president, payments for his wife's airplane trips, and nearly $2 million spent on a new HQ that remains a dilapidated shell. Disturbingly, neither the NYC D.A. or a union trustee took any action after the audit was completed in 1999.

For 30 years, until he finally lost an election this spring, James Butler was president of Local 420 of the Amer. Fedn.. of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME). Local 420 is part of the corruption-riddled Dist. Council 37, where more than two dozen officials have been convicted of embezzlement and vote-rigging.

In 1999, KPMG accountants conducted an extensive audit of all 56 Dist. Council locals covering 1995 through 1998. Acc. to the auditors, Butler charged $27,430 to the union for travel and lodging without any documentation of connection to the union. KPMG also found $58,720 in charges by a number of Local 420 officials for food and drinks, also without any documentation. Butler's wife, Eloise, took 32 trips, incl. eight 1st-class flights to Bermuda and the Caribbean. Finally, the auditors found that the union had spent $1.8 million for a new headquarters that is still far from completion.

Butler kept the report secret, and argued that he had done nothing wrong since the Local 420 board had approved all the expenditures. Citing that approval, NYC D.A. Robert Morgenthau and Lee Saunders, appointed by the natl. AFSCME union to oversee DC37, took no action against Butler.

Butler finally lost an election to Carmen Charles this spring, and Charles made the audit public. [New York Times 11/9/02]

SERVICE EMPLOYEES (SEIU)
Were NYC Union Workers Forced to Work for Union-backed Candidate?
Manhattan D.A. Robert Morgenthau is investigating charges that N.Y.C. service union bosses pressured their staffers to work for mayoral candidate Mark Green on union time, and contributed to Green's campaign from members' regular dues, as opposed to political action committee money. The grand jury investigation comes more than a year after N.Y. union dissident Paul Pamias first filed his complaint with the D.A.

 Two frmr. officials of Local 32BJ of the Service Employees Intl. Union (SEIU) said that higher-ups in the Local threatened staffers with reprimands unless they volunteered to help the Green campaign in the Dem. primary in 2001, and that they did such work on union time, which is illegal under local election law. Contributing members' regular dues to Green could violate the U.S. Sup. Ct. decision, Communications Wrkrs. v. Beck. In that 1988 ruling, the High Ct. held that it was illegal for unions to spend forced dues for political activities with which the dues-payer disagreed.

Last summer, Dominick Bentivegna told a Congressional hearing, "the staff was forced to take personal days and vacation days to campaign for Mark Green. If they had no days left, they were forced to borrow against next year's." Bentivegna is one of two frmr. 32BJ officials who has been subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury. The other is frmr. bus. agent Grace Powell who has since been transferred to Ohio. [New York Times 11/16/02]

PLUMBERS & PIPEFITTERS (UA)
Minneapolis City Councilman Convicted of Aiding Union Theft
A fed. jury convicted Minneapolis City Council member Joseph Biernat of aiding union embezzlement on Nov. 21. In 1999, Biernat accepted $2,700 in free plumbing work, on a house he owned, from Thomas J. Martin, ex-bus. mgr. of Local 15 of the United Assn. of Plumbers and Pipefitters. Martin is scheduled to go on trial Dec. 3 for 10 related charges of stealing from the union. Biernat was also convicted of lying about whether he had received property improvements from at one other than his family. [Minneapolis Star Tribune 11/21/01]

ELECTRICAL WORKERS (IBEW)
Adminr. Sentenced for Embezzling NY Electricians' Pensions
On Oct. 10, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Southern Dist. of NY, Barbara Monfre, administrator of the Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 3, Elevator Division Retirement Plan, was sentenced to 2 yrs. imprisonment and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $314,547. She was arraigned on March 22, 2002, on charges of embezzling approximately $289,000 in benefit plan funds following a joint investigation by the NYC branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards and the U.S. Dept. of Labor's Pension and Welfare Benefits Admin. [DOL OLMS 11/13/02]

- - - - - -

ADDITIONAL BRIEFS NOT INCLUDED ON THE FAX EDITION OF THIS UNION CORRUPTION UPDATE:

- - - - - -

ELECTRICAL WORKERS (IBEW)
Ex-WI Bus. Mgr. Confesses to $135K Embezzlement
Michael E. Koehler pled guilty on Nov. 8 to using funds from the union of which he was the only full-time officer for his personal use and entertainment.

From 1980 until his defeat in a 2001 election, Koehler was Fin. Secy. and Bus. Mgr. of Local 965 of the Intl. Bhd. of Electrical Wrkrs. In Oct. 1997, Koehler began submitting false claims for reimbursement for money he claimed to have given to grieving families at members' funerals, gas mileage and meal expenses he never incurred, and overtime he never worked. Before that, Koehler had regularly claimed his tee time at the Portage Country Club as union business since 1989. The $135,200 Koehler stole from the union made him Wisconsin's highest paid union official.

Fed. Judge Barbara Crabb (U.S.D.C. W.D. WI, Carter) will sentence Koehler on Feb. 4, 2003. [Capital Times, Wisconsin State Journal 11/9/02]

SHEET METAL WORKERS (SMW)
Capital Consultants Pension Scandal Nets Another Conviction in Portland
Dennis Talbott became the 9th person convicted in the scandal of Capital Consultants, a Portland, Ore., money management firm that bribed union officials to steer pension investments in their direction, then lost $350 million of those funds when it collapsed in 2000.

Talbott pled guilty on Nov. 18 to accepting illegal gratuities from Capital salesman Dean Kirkland, whose trial on 20 counts of illegal kickbacks is scheduled for March. In return for several hunting trips to western ranches and lodges, as well as one to Chicago, Talbott admitted steering $1 million of the Cleveland Sheet Metal Wrkrs. Pension Plan to Capital, along with $400,000 from the Tri-County Bldg. Trades Health Fund. Talbott agreed to testify against Kirkland, and prosecutors with the U.S. Attny. for the Dist. of Ore. recommended that Talbott receive no jail time. [The Oregonian 11/19/02]

OPERATING ENGINEERS (IUOE)
Ex-Pa. Bus. Agent Confesses to Embezzling from Strike Fund
John L. Dorrier, Jr. pled guilty on Nov. 14 to falsifying, then cashing, nearly 1,000 vouchers for supposed picketing. He also pled guilty to tax evasion by hiding these payments from the I.R.S.

Beginning in 1993, the frmr. business agent for Operating Engineers Local Union 66, in Monroeville, Penn., prepared expense vouchers for individuals who had done no picketing, then insisted on collecting the checks personally rather than having them mailed. Dorrier then forged the payees' signatures on the endorsement lines, and either cashed or deposited them into his account. To hide these payments from the IRS, Dorrier allegedly kept records of his fictitious picketers, and limited the amount "paid" to under $600 to avoid triggering the filing of 1099 tax forms. He also paid cash to relatives and friends that went unreported to the IRS. When some of the "picketers" began receiving 1099 tax forms, Dorrier paid them not to report the problem to the IRS.

As part of the plea agreement, Dorrier agreed to repay the $56,195 that he kept for his own purposes from 1992 to Nov. 1998. He pled guilty to one count of union embezzlement, one count of forgery, and one count of tax evasion. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Sr. Fed. Judge William Standish (U.S.D.C. W.D. PA, Reagan) on Feb. 20. [U.S.A.O. W. D. PA  11/14/02]

IRON WORKERS (IAIW)
"Usual Suspects" West & Worley Implicated in Insurance Bribery Scheme
On Oct. 15, 2002, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Dist. of Columbia, Richard C. Holton, pres. of an insurance agency, Holton & Associates, Ltd., pled guilty to 3 counts of bribery via employer payments to a labor union official. Holton and others initiated a self-insurance program known as the Ironworking Contractors Insurance Program (ICIP). ICIP was an effort by the employers to self-insure or reinsure their worker's compensation liability as well as other business risks.

Holton paid former Intl. Assn. of  Iron Wrkrs. (IAIW) officials Jake West, LeRoy Worley, and Stephen Cooper to solicit union employers to join ICIP. Later, West threatened that he would withdraw  IAIW support for ICIP unless the three officials received additional payments, Holton, with the approval of some of the employers, agreed to pay West, Worley, and Cooper $10,000 each per year for their continued support. Throughout 1996, 1997, 1998 and part of 1999, monthly checks were issued to West, Worley, and Cooper. The charges were brought following a joint investigation by the Wash. D.C. branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards and the FBI. [DOL OLMS 11/13/02]

COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS (CWA)
Ex-Calif. Treasurer Sentenced for $90K Theft
On Nov. 15, 2002, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the East. Dist. of Calif., Mary Anderson, frmr. treasurer of Communications Wrkrs. Local 9417, was sentenced to prison for 12 mos. and a day, plus 12 mos. of probation, and was ordered to make restitution of $89,422. On July 19, Anderson pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds. The charge was brought following an investigation by the San Francisco branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [DOL OLMS 11/20/02]

TEACHERS (NEA)
Ga. Official Indicted for 3-Year Theft from Local Union
A Henry County grand jury, on Nov. 13, indicted Jerome F. Amis, a high school social studies teacher, for allegedly stealing $35,000 from the county affiliate of the Ga. Assn. of Educators union.

Amis is alleged to have embezzled the funds from April 1999 to May of this year, while he was president of the Henry County affiliate. Amis has also been a member of the McDonough City Council since 1986. Henry County D.A. Tommy Floyd said he will contact lame-duck Gov. Roy Barnes as part of a legal procedure designed to remove indicted officials from elected offices. School officials said it is too early to decide whether Amis will continue teaching as he has in Henry County for 24 years. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution 11/14/02, Henry County D.A. 11/13/02]

LABORERS (LIUNA)
Further Details Emerge on MI Laborers Official's Embezzlement
U.S. Attny Jeffrey G. Collins announced further details on the case of convicted embezzler Edward Wiebeck, who was sentenced by Fed. judge Denise Page Hood (U.S.D.C. E.D. MI, Clinton) to a split sentence of 6 months in fed. prison, followed by 6 months of home confinement, three years of supervised release and $32,790.82 in restitution.

Mr. Collins stated that the evidence against Mr. Wiebeck showed that in 1970, Mr. Wiebeck became a member of Laborers Local 503, in Jackson, MI, which was part of the Laborer's International Union of North America. Between 1970 and 1976, he became a member of the Executive Board. In 1976, he was appointed to complete the unexpired term of the outgoing Business Manager. He was elected to the position every three years thereafter until he retired on March 1, 1998.

As the Union's Business Manager, Mr. Wiebeck's primary role consisted of collecting dues and initiation fees and enforcing various contracts. Mr. Wiebeck was also one of three signatories on the Union's checking account. Between January 5, 1996 and March 6, 1998, there were 125 pay periods. However, Mr. Wiebeck received 161 checks, 37 more than authorized, totaling $30,250.09. Mr. Wiebeck admitted to investigators that he began taking salary advances when he learned that the Union was experiencing cash dues shortages. He used the advances to cover the shortages, and for his own gambling and personal bills.

As Business Manager Mr. Wiebeck also had access to the Union's credit card which was established for official Union expenses. However, between May, 1996, and February, 1998, Mr. Wiebeck used the Union's credit card for $3,072.63 to cover his own gambling and personal expenses. Mr. Wiebeck has already paid back $531.90 to the Union.

Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Hood noted that the defendant had abused his position of trust within the Union. [U.S.A.O. E. D. MI 10/11/02]

Iowa Man Conspired with Two Des Moines Bosses to Embezzle
On Nov. 13, 2002, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Sou. Dist. of Iowa, Norval Craig Michael, a member of Laborers Local 177, entered a guilty plea to an information charging him with conspiracy to embezzle. As detailed in the information, Michael joined with Bus. Mgr. Fred Risius and Vice-Pres. Henry Jannenga in an embezzlement scheme wherein $16,900 in union checks payable to him were cashed and the proceeds split among the parties.

In Nov. 1999, Risius asked Jannenga to find someone willing to cash a Local 177 check in exchange for portion of the cash. Jannanga approached Michael, who agreed, but insisted that the check be made out for less than $10,000. On Nov. 27, Risius signed a check to Michael for $9,000. Three days later, Risius signed another check for $7,500. Risius told the Local 177 president that the checks were for materials Michael had supposedly sold to the union's apprenticeship program. Michael cashed the two checks and plit the cash between himself, Risius and Jannenga. These charges are the result of an investigation by the St. Louis branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [DOL OLMS 11/20/02]

Ala. State Official Sentenced for Theft, Falsification
On Oct. 22, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Northern Dist. of Ala., Patricia Smith, former ofc. secy. of the Ala. District Council of the Laborers Intl Union of N. Amer., was sentenced to six months home confinement followed by five years of supervised probation. She was ordered to pay $17,454 in restitution (prior to sentencing she had made restitution totaling $4,232.34). On July 10, Smith pled guilty to one count of embezzling $21,687 in union funds and one count of falsification of union records following an investigation by the Nashville branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [DOL OLMS 11/13/02]

GOVERNMENT WORKERS (AFSCME)
AFSCME Throws Out Milwaukee Boss, Charging Theft from Pension Fund
Natl. officials from the Amer. Fedtn. of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) have expelled a Milwaukee treasurer, and referred their conclusion that he embezzled from the city's pension board to the Milwaukee D.A.

Sometime in Oct., an officer from the union's Wash. D.C. headquarters determined that AFSCME Local 33 treasurer Alvin Madison had misappropriated $56,000 from the pension fund for city employees. Madison has sat on the pension board for 10 years, and is still its investment cmte. chair. In particular, the union questioned Madison's frequent travels to conferences from 1999 to the present that cost the pension board at least $13,000, far more than two other members, while six other board members did not charge the city for any conferences or travel.

Local 33 president John Garland said that he presented the evidence against Madison at the Oct. AFSCME hearing, and that Madison did not appear at the hearing, in which the Wash. D.C. officer ordered Madison's removal from office. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 11/12/02]

PAINTERS (IBPAT)
Frmr. Fla. Organizer Sentenced for Embezzlement
On Oct. 28, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Middle Dist. of Fla., Dwight West III, a frmr. organizer for Dist. Council 78 of the Intl. Bhd. of Painters & Allied Trades, was sentenced to one year plus one day imprisonment followed by three years of supervised probation. He was ordered to make restitution of $2,106.76, which represents the unpaid balance of the funds embezzled. He had pled guilty on July 31, 2002, to a one-count information charging him with embezzling $30,343.86. The charges had been brought following an investigation by the Atlanta branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [DOL OLMS 11/13/02]

Ex-Bus. Mgr. Sentenced in Ind. Fed. Ct.
On Nov. 6, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the N. Dist. of Indiana, James Clem, frmr. bus. mgr. of Local 80 of the Intl. Bhd. of Painters & Allied Trades, was sentenced to four months of home confinement, three years of supervised release, and ordered to make full restitution of $15,977. On August 21, Clem pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds following an investigation by the Chicago branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [DOL OLMS 11/20/02].

CARPENTERS (UBC)
Frmr. Bus. Mgr. Pleads Guilty to Union Theft in Fla. Fed. Ct.
On Oct. 29, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Northern Dist. of Fla., Geoffrey R. Barron, former bus. mgr./fin. secy.-treasurer of United Bhd. of Carpenters Local 2471, pled guilty to the embezzlement of $29,855.26 in union funds. He was indicted for the embezzlement of union funds on September 17, 2002 following an investigation by the Atlanta branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [DOL OLMS 11/13/02]

Ex-Great Lakes Ofc. Mgr. Charged with Embezzlement
On Oct. 25, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Eastern Dist. of Mich., Dana Moore, frmr. ofc. mgr. of the Great Lakes Regional Industrial Council of the United Bhd. of Carpenters in Luna Pier, Mich., was charged in a criminal complaint with embezzling approximately $20,000 in union funds.

According to an affidavit by an investigator for the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards, Moore committed her embezzlement between Dec. 9, 1997 and Nov. 13, 2001. In ‘97, Moore obtained a union credit card in her name without the knowledge of the Council's Chief Exec. Ofcr. and charged $6,947 to that card. She also opened a Staples ofc. supply acct. and charged $909 for electronic equipment in 2001.

In 1999, acc. to the affidavit, Moore forged the Council CEO's signature on two resolutions authorizing her to borrow or lease from the Fifth Third Bank. With those resolutions, she leased two vehicles for her personal use. Until her termination in Dec. 2001, Moore covered the rental and insurance payments by dipping into the Council's mortgage payments, diverting cancelled insurance refunds, and inflating the Council's insurance premiums without informing the Council CEO of the two extra vehicles she had leased. [DOL OLMS 11/13/02]

FOOD & COMMERCIAL WORKERS (UFCW)
Natl. Hierarchy Imposes Trusteeship on  CO Local, Charging Misuse of Funds
Natl. officials from the United Food & Commercial Wrkrs. (UFCW), on Nov. 13, accused a trio of Local 990 officials in Greely, CO, of poor record-keeping and use of union funds for personal expenses.

In Oct., the three -- president Ron Bush, his son and vice-president Steve, and secy.-treasurer Katie Salazar, were forced to resign their positions as the natl. hierarchy took over the Local. On the 13th, representatives from the UFCW's Wash. DC headquarters met with Local 990 members to present their case against the three. According to members who attended the hearing, evidence presented at the hearing included an audio tape of Ron accusing Steve of stealing union money, and Steve replying, "Well, what about what you did." None of the three removed officers appeared at the hearing.

Among the personal expenses they are accused of paying from the union's acct. are student loans and health club memberships. The Bushes and Salazar are also accused of stealing from a scholarship fund donated by Swift & Co., which employs the Local 990 workers. UFCW spokesman Greg Denier said the natl. union's investigation could last as long as 18 months. Investigators with the U.S. Dept. of Labor's Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards are also looking into the allegations. [Greely Tribune 11/14/02]

TEAMSTERS (IBT)
Controversial Boston Local under Spotlight for Possible Embezzlement at Airport Parking Garage
FBI and IRS agents searched the Logan Airport's Parking garage and interviewed at least 23 wrkrs. and mngrs. on Nov. 7, after being alerted to "discrepancies" in parking revenues. The wrkrs. at the garage are controlled by Local 25 of the Intl. Bhd. of Teamsters, already under investigation for a series of shakedowns and featherbedding in the movie-making industry, and whose president, George W. Cashman, is under indictment for union insurance fraud.

Mass. Port Authority CEO Craig P. Coy contacted fed. investigators after he was hired in April and discovered the "discrepancies," which were uncovered in a Dec. 2001 audit. The indicted boss, George W. Cashman, sat on the port authority bd. until forced to resign after his indictment in Jan. of this year. Coy, hired to reestablish public trust in the authority known as a haven for political patronage jobs, said he was asked to delay any actions of his own until after the grand jury investigation is complete. [Boston Globe 11/8/02, Boston Herald 11/9/02]

Boston Teamsters Goon Sentenced for Racketeering
Federal Judge Reginald C. Lindsay (U.S.D.C. MA, Clinton) sentenced John J. "Mick" Murray to 9 yrs., 4 mos. in prison and 3 yrs. supervised release on Nov. Nov. 19 for racketeering, extortion, embezzlement and interstate transportation of stolen property. Still pending is an indictment of 8 others, incl. George W. Cashman and William Carnes, president and vice-president of Intl. Bhd. of Teamsters Local 25, on 179 counts of embezzlement from local health and pension funds.

Murray pled guilty on July 1 to plotting to steal computer equipment and guns with the help of Teamster drivers working for United Parcel Serv., and receiving $35,000 in fraudulent health benefits, which he must repay to the union. [U.S.A.O. Dist. MA 11/19/02]

POSTAL WORKERS (MAIL HANDLERS)/LABORERS (LIUNA)
Frmr. Postal Union Bookkeeper Sentenced in SC
U.S. Dist. Judge Dennis W. Shedd (U.S.D.C. SC, G.H.W. Bush), on Nov. 15, sentenced Gwendolyn Meadows to 8 mos. in prison, 3 yrs. of supervised release, and restitution of the $27,882 she embezzled from Local 334 of the Natl. Postal Mail Handlers (a div. of the Laborers Intl. Union of N. Amer.). The ex-bookeeper admitted on July 8, in Columbia, SC, that from the end of March 1997 through Sept. 1998 she received cash back on Union deposits and bought personal money orders on the Union's acct. [U.S.A.O. SC 11/15/02]

Ex-Treasurer Sentenced for Covering up Embezzlement
On Nov. 4, 2002, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Sou. Dist. of Miss., Loyd Manning, former treasurer of Local 325 of the Natl. Postal Mail Handlers, was sentenced to three years probation and fined $500 after pleading guilty to a one-count indictment charging him with filing a false report. His sentencing comes 17 days after the Local's ex-president, James Dawson, was sentenced for making unauthorized cash advances from the union's credit card. The charge was brought following an investigation by the New Orleans branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards (DOL OLMS 11/13/02]

AUTO WORKERS (UAW)
Ex-Fin. Secy. Sentenced in NJ Fed. Ct.
On Oct. 28, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Dist. of NJ, George Wright, Jr., frmr. fin. secy. of United Auto Wrkrs. Local 267, was sentenced to six mos. house arrest and 5 years probation. He was ordered to make full restitution in the amount of $19,206. He had been indicted for embezzlement of union funds on October 30, 2001, following an investigation by the New York branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [DOL OLMS 11/13/02]

BOILERMAKERS (IBB)
Bookkeeper Wife of NC Union Boss Indicted for Using Job to Embezzle
A wife of a frmr. secy.-treasurer in Norwood, N.C., used her bookkeeping duties to steal nearly $14,000 from her husband's union, acc. to a fed. indictment filed Oct. 29.

Martha H. Davidson gained access to the financial books of Intl. Bhd. of Boilermakers Lodge 31 by performing bookkeeping duties for then-secy.-treasurer Clyde. Starting on July 1, 1998, Mrs. Davidson allegedly began forging the signature of the local president on Lodge checks made payable to her. Acc. to the indictment, she did this 12 times until Oct. 30, 1999, for a total of $13,917.

Mrs. Davidson was charged with 12 counts of union embezzlement, in violation of 29 U.S.C., Sec. 501(c), and 12 counts of forging financial securities in violation of 18 U.S.C., Sec. 513(a). The indictment was filed in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Middle Dist. of N.C., after an investigation by Nashville branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [U.S.A.O. Mid. Dist. N.C. 10/29/02, DOL OLMS 11/13/02]

ALLIED-INDUSTRIAL WORKERS (PACE)
Husband & Wife Team Indicted in Ala. Fed. Ct.
Jerry and Peggy Seay were indicted in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the N. Dist. of Ala. on Nov. 1 for theft of union funds.  Jerry, the frmr. pres. of Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical & Energy Workers (PACE), Local 3-501, is charged with writing $6,949 in union checks for his personal use.  Peggy is charged with forgery and cashing union checks totaling $1,348 for her personal use.  The embezzlement and falsification allegedly took place between Jan. 1, 1997 and June 21, 1999.  The charges were brought following an investigation by the Nashville branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [U.S.A.O. N.D. AL  11/1/02, DOL OLMS  11/13/02]

STEELWORKERS (USW)
Ex-Pres. Confesses to Theft, Falsification in Indiana Fed. Ct.
David A. Shaffer, frmr. pres. of United Steel Wrkrs. Local 8985, pled guilty on Nov. 6 to the falsification of union records to cover up his embezzlement from the union. He entered his plea in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the N. Dist. in Hammond, Indiana.

Shaffer admitted that from Jan. 1997 through May 2000, he submitted false claims for lost wages while doing union business. From June through Oct. of 1999, Shaffer claimed reimbursement from the union for attending contract negotiations in Pittsburgh, when his employer, Natl. Steel, had already reimbursed him. Shaffer embezzled a total of $21,958 from the union. By pleading guilty to a violation of 29 U.S.C., Sec. 439(c), Shaffer is prohibited from holding a union office for 13 years. Shaffer was charged following an investigation by the Chicago branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards [U.S.A.O. N. Dist. Ind., DOL OLMS 11/20/02]

Another Va. Official Sentenced for Embezzling from Disaster Relief Fund
On Oct. 28, 2002, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the W. Dist. of Va., Edward Ramsey, ex-president of Steelworkers Local 9336, was sentenced to four years probation and six months home detention. He was ordered to make full restitution in the amount of $5,065.76 for embezzling from the union's disaster relief fund, established after an explosion at the Intermet New River Foundry that displaced many workers. He had pled guilty on July 12, 2002, following a joint investigation by the Pittsburgh branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards, and the U.S. Dept. of Labor's Ofc. of the Inspector General, Roanoke Office. [DOL OLMS 11/13/02]

STAGE EMPLOYEES (IATSE)
Tenn. Stage Union Boss Confesses to Embezzlement
On November 6, 2002, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Eastern Dist. of Tenn., Tony Evans, former secy.-treasurer of the Intl. Alliance Theatrical, Stage & Picture Operators Local 197, pled guilty to a one-count bill of information and was sentenced to six months of home confinement followed by two years of supervised probation and fined $1,000. The information charged Evans with embezzling $16,319 in union funds that he repaid prior to being sentenced. The charge was brought following an investigation by the Nashville branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards (DOL OLMS 11/13/02]

SHEET METAL WORKERS (SMW)
Ex Bookkeeper Sentenced for Embezzlement in MI Fed. Ct.
On Nov. 4, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the E. Dist. of Mich., Lorri Delaney, frmr. bookkeeper of Sheet Metal Workers Local 78, was sentenced to one year probation (with the first four months to be served in home confinement) and ordered to make restitution of $19,500. On July 15, Delaney pled guilty to embezzling union funds following a joint investigation by the Detroit branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards and the U.S. Dept. of Labor's Ofc. of the Inspector General. [DOL OLMS 11/20/02]

BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION TRADE UNIONS
Decatur, IL, Woman Sentenced for Embezzlement
On Nov. 15, 2002, in the Circ. Ct. of Macon County, Ill., Deborah Woltz, former bldg. mgr. of the Allied Industrial Workers Bldg. Assn. of Decatur, Ill., was sentenced to four yrs.probation and ordered to pay full restitution of $19,195.94 to the Bldg. Assn. plus court costs after pleading guilty to embezzlement. The case was prosecuted by the Macon County State's Attorney following an investigation by the Chicago branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards [DOL OLMS 11/20/02]

Union Corruption Update is made possible by the generous contributions from readers like you. NLPC, PO Box 6821, Falls Church, VA 22040. Thank you. Union Corruption Update is part of NLPC's Organized Labor Accountability Project which is investigating and exposing corruption 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.

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 (http://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.
 
Looking for a LM-2, LM-3, or LM-4 Annual Financial Report from the Department of Labor? Visit http://www.dol-union-reports.gov.

Email NLPC

Union Corruption Update Article Index (by Union)

Union Corruption Update Article Index (by State)

Organized Labor Accountability Project

NLPC Home Page