Verlia Jones was charged on Oct. 18 with double-dipping embezzlement in her dual offices at the local and dist. level. The criminal complaint was filed in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for N.J.
Jones was elected president of Local 1012 of the Amer. Fed. of Govt. Employees (AFGE) in Feb. 1998. While in ofc. until Jan. 2001, acc. to the complaint, Jones stole nearly $45,000 through union checks payable to, and cashed by, herself. She also used the Lyons-based Local’s checking acct. to cover numerous personal expenses charged to her credit cards. In Oct. 1999, Jones was elected to the ofc. of Treasurer of the 2nd Dist. Veterans Admin. Council, also located at the VA Medical Center in Lyons. Until she left ofc. last May, Jones withdrew $14,500 from the Council’s checking acct.
On May 9, Jones signed a statement, admitting her embezzlement to investigators with the Newark branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. Jomes is charged with having embezzled a total of $59,513 from AFGE on fed. govt. property, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 661. [U.S.A.O. D. N.J. 11/1/02]