A fed. magistrate ordered Robert Martin to be held in fed. custody after a Labor Dept. agent testified that he helped his girlfriend, Elizabeth George, evade arrest on charges of union embezzlement. U.S. Magistrate Judge Glen Conrad issued the ruling on Sept. 23 in the U.S. Dist. Ct. in Roanoke, Va.
Four ex-officials of United Steelworkers Local 9336 have already pled guilty to looting more than $10,000 from a relief fund formed after a fatal explosion at the Intermet New River Foundry in Radford, Va. George is charged with taking some $4,100 in lost work reimbursements for herself and Martin when they were actually working at the foundry. The day before George and the others were indicted on Feb. 19 this year, Martin testified before a fed. grand jury. When law enforcement officials arrived at George’s home to arrest her, she and Martin were gone.
On Sept. 9, state troopers stopped Martin and George on a traffic violation. But George escaped arrest when she showed a W. Va. driver’s license identifying her as Maggie Bates. After later linking Martin to George as a fugitive from justice, police found them in W. Va. But while Martin was speaking to them, George snuck out of the house, took Martin’s car, and hasn’t been seen since. Martin is now being held for aiding and abetting a fugitive. [Roanoke Times & World News, 9/24/02]