March 20, 2002

Deputy Assistant Secretary Don Todd
Office of Labor-Management Standards
United States Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20210

Assistant Secretary Ann L. Combs
Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration
United States Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20210

Inspector General Gordon S. Heddell
Office of the Inspector General
United States Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20210

United States Attorney John S. Gordon
Central District of California
United States Department of Justice
1200 United States Court House
312 North Spring Street
Los Angeles, California 90012

Regional Director C. Russell Rock
Pacific Region Office
Office of Labor-Management Standards
United States Department of Labor
71 Stevenson Street, Room 440
San Francisco, California 94105

Director Billy Beaver
Los Angeles Regional Office
Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration
United States Department of Labor
1055 East Colorado Boulevard, Suite 200
Pasadena, California 91106

District Director Jeff Gitomer
Los Angeles District Office
Office of Labor-Management Standards
United States Department of Labor
3660 Wilshire Boulevard, Room 708
Los Angeles, California 90010

Dear Federal Law Enforcement Officials:

If it has not already begun, the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) requests that the Departments of Labor and Justice initiate a criminal investigation of the Riverside County Chapter of a fire fighters union representing employees of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, located in Temecula, California. According to a recent media report, it appears that at least two former officers of this union embezzled funds from the labor organization and/or a fund protected by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Further, NLPC requests that the Departments of Labor and Justice prosecute any crimes this proposed investigation uncovers.

Since 1997, NLPC has been dedicated to investigating and exposing union corruption at every level. In publishing the fortnightly newsletter, Union Corruption Update, we have observed hundreds of cases of union embezzlement and other union-related crimes. For more information about NLPC, please visit http://www.nlpc.org.
 
The report -- Tim O'Leary, "Funds Stolen, Union Says: Temecula: Former Unidentified Leaders of the Union Have Been Disciplined, Officials Say," Press-Enterprise (Riverside, Cal.), Mar. 15, 2002, at B1 -- is enclosed. It reported that two "former union officers admitted they spent chapter money on personal uses -- for apartment rent and computers -- last year." The alleged amount stolen was more than $5,000. ERISA may be implicated because the article stated, "The money was taken from the chapter's benevolent fund, which is used to help burn victims and the families of ill, injured or deceased firefighters."

Disturbingly, the article reported that although the union "acknowledged that the term 'embezzlement' could accurately describe the unauthorized use of the money" in this case, "the union has not asked authorities to investigate." To further conceal details about the case, the union has not released the names of the two allegedly admitted embezzlers. Although the union did say that the two allegedly admitted embezzlers have "signed agreements to reimburse the union and have their paychecks garnished if they fail to make payments on time."

This cases bears a striking similarity to a recent successful prosecution by the Departments of Labor and Justice in the Northern District of Ohio. In that case, a former officer of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 639, Richard Adams, admitted embezzling some $144,900 from the local and is currently awaiting sentencing on a related federal bank fraud charge. Prior to Adams' guilty plea, a media report stated, "Despite the union's request that the matter be resolved internally, [local law enforcement] called in the FBI and U.S. Labor Department to investigate. . . . [This] move disappointed Cliff Taylor, then Local 639 president. He said at the time that the union wanted to handle the matter internally because 'our objective was to get the money and we're recouping most of it.' Taylor has since stepped down as president." See Joseph L. Wagner, "Former Parmer Fire Lieutenant Charged in Loss of $143,000 from Union Funds," Plain Dealer (Cleveland), Jan. 18, 2002, at B3.

The Ohio case demonstrates a precedent for the Departments of Labor and Justice to not allow alleged internal union discipline and/or voluntary restitution agreements to get in the way of a criminal prosecution. NLPC applauds the Departments of Labor and Justice for the decision to bring Richard Adams to justice and now calls upon the Departments to follow the same approach in the case of this California fire fighters union.

If no ERISA prosecution is available, NLPC realizes the federal jurisdiction over a public fire fighters union may be attenuated. Nevertheless, NLPC requests that the Departments of Labor and Justice, as has been done in other public sector union corruption cases, explore possible bank fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, or other federal criminal charges that may be applicable. Alternatively, NLPC requests that the Department of Labor bring its superior investigatory skills to bear on this case to aid and encourage a prosecution by local law enforcement officials. See, e.g., Office of Labor-Management Standards, "Recent Criminal Enforcement Actions," http://www.dol.gov/dol/esa/public/regs/compliance/olms/enforc_actions.htm) (examples of the Department of Labor working closely with state and local law enforcement in union corruption cases).

Note that in the article, the Riverside County District Attorney's Office confirmed that it already obtained documents related to the case, but it did not state whether there is a criminal investigation under way.
 
NLPC believes that it is imperative that you and your offices were notified of this apparent union corruption and have the opportunity to bring any guilty union officials to justice. Simple removal from union office or internal union discipline is not enough.

Thank you for your time and consideration of this request. If NLPC can be of any additional assistance, please contact us at 703-237-1970.

Sincerely,
 
Kenneth F. Boehm
Chairman

Enclosure: as stated

cc:
United States Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
United States Attorney General John Ashcroft
Riverside County District Attorney Grover Trask
Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Roger Luebs
 
 

Supporting Article: Tim O'Leary, "Funds Stolen, Union Says: Temecula: Former Unidentified Leaders of the Union Have Been Disciplined, Officials Say," Press-Enterprise (Riverside, Cal.), Mar. 15, 2002, at B1.

Union Corruption Update Brief on Riverside County Fire Fighters Union (Apr. 1, 2002)

Organized Labor Accountability Project

NLPC Home Page