A federal grand jury indicted a Butler man on August 7 for stealing more than $150,000 from his union from 1993 through 1998. John L. Dorrier Jr., former business agent for Operating Engineers Local Union 66, in Monroeville, is also accused of hiding his thefts from the IRS.
Beginning in January 1993, acc. to the indictment, Dorrier used his responsibility of reimbursing picketers by preparing expense vouchers for individuals who had done no picketing, then insisted on collecting the checks personally rather than having them mailed. Dorrier then allegedly forged the payees’ signatures on the endorsement lines, and either cashed or deposited them into his account. To hide these payments from the IRS, Dorrier allegedly kept records of his fictitious picketers, and limited the amount “paid” to under $600 to avoid triggering the filing of 1099 tax forms. He also paid cash to relatives and friends that went unreported to the IRS. When some of the “picketers” began receiving 1099 tax forms, Dorrier paid them not to report the problem to the IRS.
According to the indictment, Dorrier obtained $137,645 in false payments for picketing, of which he kept $41,795 for his own use. And from Aug. ‘97 to Nov. ‘98, Dorrier embezzled an additional $14,400 from the local union’s treasury. Dorrier is accused of bank fraud in violation of U.S.C. 18, Sec. 1344; embezzlement of union funds [U.S.C. 29, Sec. 501(c)]; forgery [U.S.C. 18, Sec. 513(a)] and obstruction of tax law [U.S.C. 26, Sec. 7212(a)]. Asst. U.S. Attny Paul Hull said that Dorrier faces a maximum sentence of 208 years in prison, nearly $7 million in fines, or both. [U.S.A.O. W.D. PA, 8/7/02]