On Dec. 11, 2002, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Wash., D.C., federal prosecutors decided not to seek a new trial against ex-Intl. Assn. of Iron Wrkrs. official LeRoy Worley. A jury’s failure to reach a verdict caused a mistrial to be declared on Nov. 15, 2002.
Worley and former Iron Workers President Jake West were the subjects of a superceding indictment handed down by a fed. grand jury on August 7, 2002, that accused both men of funneling illegal payments to Worley, totaling more than $217,000, from the union pension plan for salary and expenses after Worley retired. The indictment also listed more than $37,000 for a pension that Worley was not entitled to receive.
West pled guilty on Oct. 25, 2002, to one count of embezzling from an employee pension benefit fund and one count of making a material false statement in exchange for the remaining charges against him being dropped after sentencing. The charges had been brought following an extensive, joint investigation by the Washington branch of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards, the FBI, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Pension and Welfare Benefits Admin. [DOL OLMS 1/2/03]