FBI and IRS agents searched the Logan Airport’s Parking garage and interviewed at least 23 wrkrs. and mngrs. on Nov. 7, after being alerted to “discrepancies” in parking revenues. The wrkrs. at the garage are controlled by Local 25 of the Intl. Bhd. of Teamsters, already under investigation for a series of shakedowns and featherbedding in the movie-making industry, and whose president, George W. Cashman, is under indictment for union insurance fraud.
Mass. Port Authority CEO Craig P. Coy contacted fed. investigators after he was hired in April and discovered the “discrepancies,” which were uncovered in a Dec. 2001 audit. The indicted boss, George W. Cashman, sat on the port authority bd. until forced to resign after his indictment in Jan. of this year. Coy, hired to reestablish public trust in the authority known as a haven for political patronage jobs, said he was asked to delay any actions of his own until after the grand jury investigation is complete. [Boston Globe 11/8/02, Boston Herald 11/9/02]
Boston Teamsters Goon Sentenced for Racketeering
Federal Judge Reginald C. Lindsay (U.S.D.C. MA, Clinton) sentenced John J. “Mick” Murray to 9 yrs., 4 mos. in prison and 3 yrs. supervised release on Nov. Nov. 19 for racketeering, extortion, embezzlement and interstate transportation of stolen property. Still pending is an indictment of 8 others, incl. George W. Cashman and William Carnes, president and vice-president of Intl. Bhd. of Teamsters Local 25, on 179 counts of embezzlement from local health and pension funds.
Murray pled guilty on July 1 to plotting to steal computer equipment and guns with the help of Teamster drivers working for United Parcel Serv., and receiving $35,000 in fraudulent health benefits, which he must repay to the union. [U.S.A.O. Dist. MA 11/19/02]
Frmr. Postal Union Bookkeeper Sentenced in SC
U.S. Dist. Judge Dennis W. Shedd (U.S.D.C. SC, G.H.W. Bush), on Nov. 15, sentenced Gwendolyn Meadows to 8 mos. in prison, 3 yrs. of supervised release, and restitution of the $27,882 she embezzled from Local 334 of the Natl. Postal Mail Handlers (a div. of the Laborers Intl. Union of N. Amer.). The ex-bookeeper admitted on July 8, in Columbia, SC, that from the end of March 1997 through Sept. 1998 she received cash back on Union deposits and bought personal money orders on the Union’s acct. [U.S.A.O. SC 11/15/02]
Ex-Treasurer Sentenced for Covering up Embezzlement
On Nov. 4, 2002, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Sou. Dist. of Miss., Loyd Manning, former treasurer of Local 325 of the Natl. Postal Mail Handlers, was sentenced to three years probation and fined $500 after pleading guilty to a one-count indictment charging him with filing a false report. His sentencing comes 17 days after the Local’s ex-president, James Dawson, was sentenced for making unauthorized cash advances from the union’s credit card. The charge was brought following an investigation by the New Orleans branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards (DOL OLMS 11/13/02]
Ex-Fin. Secy. Sentenced in NJ Fed. Ct.
On Oct. 28, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Dist. of NJ, George Wright, Jr., frmr. fin. secy. of United Auto Wrkrs. Local 267, was sentenced to six mos. house arrest and 5 years probation. He was ordered to make full restitution in the amount of $19,206. He had been indicted for embezzlement of union funds on October 30, 2001, following an investigation by the New York branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [DOL OLMS 11/13/02]
Bookkeeper Wife of NC Union Boss Indicted for Using Job to Embezzle
A wife of a frmr. secy.-treasurer in Norwood, N.C., used her bookkeeping duties to steal nearly $14,000 from her husband’s union, acc. to a fed. indictment filed Oct. 29.
Martha H. Davidson gained access to the financial books of Intl. Bhd. of Boilermakers Lodge 31 by performing bookkeeping duties for then-secy.-treasurer Clyde. Starting on July 1, 1998, Mrs. Davidson allegedly began forging the signature of the local president on Lodge checks made payable to her. Acc. to the indictment, she did this 12 times until Oct. 30, 1999, for a total of $13,917.
Mrs. Davidson was charged with 12 counts of union embezzlement, in violation of 29 U.S.C., Sec. 501(c), and 12 counts of forging financial securities in violation of 18 U.S.C., Sec. 513(a). The indictment was filed in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Middle Dist. of N.C., after an investigation by Nashville branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [U.S.A.O. Mid. Dist. N.C. 10/29/02, DOL OLMS 11/13/02]
Husband & Wife Team Indicted in Ala. Fed. Ct.
Jerry and Peggy Seay were indicted in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the N. Dist. of Ala. on Nov. 1 for theft of union funds. Jerry, the frmr. pres. of Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical & Energy Workers (PACE), Local 3-501, is charged with writing $6,949 in union checks for his personal use. Peggy is charged with forgery and cashing union checks totaling $1,348 for her personal use. The embezzlement and falsification allegedly took place between Jan. 1, 1997 and June 21, 1999. The charges were brought following an investigation by the Nashville branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [U.S.A.O. N.D. AL 11/1/02, DOL OLMS 11/13/02]
Ex-Pres. Confesses to Theft, Falsification in Indiana Fed. Ct.
David A. Shaffer, frmr. pres. of United Steel Wrkrs. Local 8985, pled guilty on Nov. 6 to the falsification of union records to cover up his embezzlement from the union. He entered his plea in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the N. Dist. in Hammond, Indiana.
Shaffer admitted that from Jan. 1997 through May 2000, he submitted false claims for lost wages while doing union business. From June through Oct. of 1999, Shaffer claimed reimbursement from the union for attending contract negotiations in Pittsburgh, when his employer, Natl. Steel, had already reimbursed him. Shaffer embezzled a total of $21,958 from the union. By pleading guilty to a violation of 29 U.S.C., Sec. 439(c), Shaffer is prohibited from holding a union office for 13 years. Shaffer was charged following an investigation by the Chicago branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards [U.S.A.O. N. Dist. Ind., DOL OLMS 11/20/02]
Another Va. Official Sentenced for Embezzling from Disaster Relief Fund
On Oct. 28, 2002, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the W. Dist. of Va., Edward Ramsey, ex-president of Steelworkers Local 9336, was sentenced to four years probation and six months home detention. He was ordered to make full restitution in the amount of $5,065.76 for embezzling from the union’s disaster relief fund, established after an explosion at the Intermet New River Foundry that displaced many workers. He had pled guilty on July 12, 2002, following a joint investigation by the Pittsburgh branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards, and the U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Ofc. of the Inspector General, Roanoke Office. [DOL OLMS 11/13/02]
Tenn. Stage Union Boss Confesses to Embezzlement
On November 6, 2002, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Eastern Dist. of Tenn., Tony Evans, former secy.-treasurer of the Intl. Alliance Theatrical, Stage & Picture Operators Local 197, pled guilty to a one-count bill of information and was sentenced to six months of home confinement followed by two years of supervised probation and fined $1,000. The information charged Evans with embezzling $16,319 in union funds that he repaid prior to being sentenced. The charge was brought following an investigation by the Nashville branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards (DOL OLMS 11/13/02]
Ex Bookkeeper Sentenced for Embezzlement in MI Fed. Ct.
On Nov. 4, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the E. Dist. of Mich., Lorri Delaney, frmr. bookkeeper of Sheet Metal Workers Local 78, was sentenced to one year probation (with the first four months to be served in home confinement) and ordered to make restitution of $19,500. On July 15, Delaney pled guilty to embezzling union funds following a joint investigation by the Detroit branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards and the U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Ofc. of the Inspector General. [DOL OLMS 11/20/02]
Decatur, IL, Woman Sentenced for Embezzlement
On Nov. 15, 2002, in the Circ. Ct. of Macon County, Ill., Deborah Woltz, former bldg. mgr. of the Allied Industrial Workers Bldg. Assn. of Decatur, Ill., was sentenced to four yrs.probation and ordered to pay full restitution of $19,195.94 to the Bldg. Assn. plus court costs after pleading guilty to embezzlement. The case was prosecuted by the Macon County State’s Attorney following an investigation by the Chicago branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards [DOL OLMS 11/20/02]