U.S. Dist. Judge G. Thomas VanBebber (D. Kan., H.W. Bush) sentenced admitted union embezzler Joseph C. Rider Sept. 25 to eighteen months in fed. prison, without parole, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Rider, the ex-business manager and secretary-treasurer of Laborers’ Int’l Union of N. Am. Local 1290 in Kan., pled guilty in May to one count of union embezzlement. VanBebber also ordered him to pay $15,044.46 in restitution.
U.S. Atty. James Flory said Rider used the local’s credit card for personal expenses including airline tickets, restaurant bills, vehicle rentals, entertainment, and purchase of food or lodging. A Nov. 2000 indictment said the expenses included NASCAR tickets and Las Vegas shows. The crime occurred over four years beginning in Nov. 1995. Rider was the third generation in his family to head Local 1290. He was removed in 1999 after an internal probe. He was also president of the W. Mo. & Kan. Laborers’ Dist. Council. [USAO D. Kan., Media Release, 9/26/01; K.C. Star 5/24/01]