Utility Workers of Am. Local 537 Secretary-Treasurer William S. George was sentenced Oct. 14 to 5 months in prison for stealing union funds. He pled guilty Jul. 30 to 6 counts of embezzlement. The plea came after the Pittsburgh union boss was indicted Apr. 22 in U.S. District Court for stealing over 40,000 of union members’ funds. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, George used several schemes, including fraudulent reimbursements for meals, postal costs and lost wages. The indictment alleged he had UWA pay for personal cellular phone and florist bills. He also used UWA’s credit card to pay for other personal expenses. George had faced 5 years in prison and $1,500,000 in fines. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 10/15/98]
Boss Banned from Union Office
Union embezzler, Janet Brown, was sentenced Oct. 8 to 4 months of house arrest and was banned from union office for 13 years. The former president of American Flint Glass Workers Union Local 599 in Beaver Falls, Pa., pled guilty Jul. 29 to embezzling more than $3,000 from union coffers. U.S. Attorney’s Office said the union boss took members’ money by writing checks to herself and falsifying union records. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 10/9/98]