Allan Spates was indicted on Dec. 22 on charges that he embezzled $29,746 from the union he formerly served as president. He is also charged with falsifying the financial disclosure form he filed for the union with the U.S. Dept. of Labor. Spates was president of Local 5-1250 of the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Wrkrs. union (PACE) in Ravenna, Ohio. From at least Jan. 2000 through Oct. 2001, Spates allegedly pocketed members’ dues payments, used the Union’s debit card for personal purchases, made false claims of lost time for which the Union compensated him, and obtained unauthorized reimbursements from the Union.
In April 2002, Spates submitted the Union’s LM-3 financial disclosure form to the U.S. Dept. of Labor. He claimed to have been paid only $4,834 in 2001, when he allegedly had been paid substantially more. He also allegedly under-reported the Union’s receipts and disbursements to hide the funds he had stolen. The 6-count indictment was delivered by the U.S. Attny. for North. Ohio, and follows an investigation by the Cleveland Dist. Ofc. of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards. [OLMS, 1/14/04: U.S.A.O., N.D. OH, 12/22/03]