John Scardino has been suspended indefinitely as president of Am. Fed’n of State, County & Mun. Employees Local 264 in Buffalo and is charged with a series of improper expenditures of union funds. Charges against Scardino, who has led the local for a decade, were referred to the international union after an audit of the local’s checking account, according to local vice-president Dave Christopher. The audit, covering the past 20 months, indicated that Scardino obtained funds through a series of checks, some of them written to him, according to Christopher.
According to Scardino, the matter involved “questionable expenses,” and he said he repaid the questioned amounts. Scardino also said he may resign before an AFSCME judicial panel hears the charges. Neither side would discuss the amount in question. [Buff. News 10/27/99]