A former carpenters’ union secretary from Lebanon is facing fines, probation and mandatory community service after pleading guilty to stealing from her local chapter. Joy Torrance has pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Portland to a single count of embezzlement of labor union assets, a federal offense. She has been ordered to pay back $31,640 to the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.
“Quite a few members are not happy with the outcome,” said Tom Dunford, who has acted as assistant supervisor of the local since last February, when the union’s international leadership took control of the Corvallis office after the reports of missing funds surfaced. “A lot of members felt if she had done six months, then got probation and restitution, that would’ve been fair,” Dunford added. [Corvallis Gazette-Times, 2/9/05]