Am. Fed’n of State, County & Mun. Local 1597 ex-boss Lola McBryde was sentenced Nov. 8 to 4.5 years in prison for union corruption. Local 1597 is part of the AFSCME Dist. Council 37 in N.Y. City that has had 24 bosses indicted for corruption with 12 pleading guilty.
McBryde, who ran Local 1597 since in 1992, was indicted Apr. 14 on charges of embezzling over $110,000 from the local by billing personal food and travel costs to the union and through kickback schemes. She also was charged with submitting phony expense accounts to pay for a cruise that she and a companion took to Alaska. She pled guilty Sep. 27 to one scheme that involved food for members who took part in a union march on Washington in 1993. She admitted stealing $6,500 by billing Local 1597 for food that was never provided.
The start of McBryde’s sentence was delayed on the condition she repay Local 1597 of DC37 at least $20,000 by Dec. 13. If she pays, she can spend Christmas at home and surrender on Jan. 5. If she fails to pay, she will go to prison on Dec. 13. She must serve 1.5 years before she is eligible for parole. [AP 11/8/99; Daily News 11/9/99]