On March 10, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Sou. Dist. of Texas, John Rookard, a special asst. and project coordinator to Byron Boyd, president of the United Transportation Union, pled guilty to one count of labor racketeering conspiracy. Rookard and Boyd admitted to soliciting and collecting thousands of dollars in cash from attorneys nationwide. The scheme involved attorneys seeking designation by UTU to receive lucrative business associated with the personal injury claims of rail workers. Rookard will forfeit $45,000 to the Federal government from the proceeds of the racketeering activity. The guilty plea follows a joint investigation by the New Orleans Dist. Ofc. of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor Mgmt. Standards, the Dept. of Labor’s Ofc. of the Inspector General and the FBI. [OLMS, 3/24/04]
Ex-President Sentenced for Falsification in La. Fed. Court
On March 11, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the East. Dist. of La., James Robinson, frmr. president of United Food & Commercial Workers Local 1101, was placed on two years probation for failing to maintain union records. He was ordered to complete restitution to the union in the amount of $9,987. Robinson pled guilty to the charge on Dec. 9, 2003. The guilty plea and sentence follow an investigation by the New Orleans Dist. Ofc. of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor Mgmt. Standards. [OLMS, 3/24/04]
Ex-Treasurer Charged with Theft in Minn. State Court
On March 10, in the Dist. Ct. for Ramsey County (Minnesota), a criminal complaint was signed charging Brian Wimberly, frmr. treasurer of Local 506 of the Intl. Bhd. of Elec. Wrkrs., with one count of theft of $722 in union funds. The charge follows an investigation by the Minneapolis Resident Investigator Office of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor Mgmt. Standards. [OLMS, 3/17/04]