On March 6, Cindy Wright, formerly president of Local 1298 of the American Federation of Government Employees, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to 24 months in prison and was ordered to pay approximately $32,000 in restitution to the Ft. Worth-based union. She had pleaded guilty in October to one count of making false statements of material fact. The guilty plea and sentencing follow an investigation by the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards and the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General. (OLMS, 4/4/06).
Former Oklahoma Local Boss Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
On March 9, Jerry LeBlanc, ex-president of Local 2250 of the American Federation of Government Employees, pled guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma for embezzling $46,151.51 in union funds. He had been indicted last November. The guilty plea follows a joint investigation by the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Inspector General. The local represents workers at the VA hospital in Muskogee. (OLMS, 4/4/06).
Former Virginia Local President Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
On March 14, Tina Buracker, formerly president of Local 82174 of the Communications Workers of America, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of embezzling union funds. Back in October she had been indicted for embezzling $54,679.38 from the Shenandoah, Va.-based local. (OLMS, 4/4/06).
Ex-Local Official in Oregon Pleads Guilty to False Reporting
On March 20, Beverly Jackson, former executive vice president of CWA Local 7901, pled guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon to a superseding information count of concealing and withholding financial reporting records. She was sentenced to five months of home confinement and five years probation, and was ordered to pay $33,457.65 in restitution to the Portland-based union. Originally, Jackson had been indicted on three counts of embezzling union funds in that amount. The guilty plea and sentencing follow an investigation by the Department of Labor. (OLMS, 4/4/06).
Wisconsin Ex-Local President Sentenced for Embezzlement
On March 24, Rebecca Bandt, former president of Local 717 of the United Food and Commercial Workers, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to six months in prison followed by three months in a community treatment center and three years probation. She also will have to make restitution to the Wausau-area local in an amount of more than $14,000. Bandt had pleaded guilty in January. The plea and sentencing come after a Department of Labor investigation. (OLMS, 4/4/06).
Former International Union Executive Assistant Sentenced
On March 23, Richard Lyter, former executive assistant to the general secretary-treasurer of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to five years probation and was ordered to pay more than $1,000 in unpaid restitution to the union. He pleaded guilty back in December to one count of making false entries in union records as part of a scheme to embezzle more than $14,000. (OLMS, 4/4/06).
Kansas Ex-Business Agent Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
On March 13, Richard Lammers, former business agent-financial secretary for Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Local 99-G, based in Wichita, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of embezzling nearly $5,000 in union funds during January-July 2005. (OLMS, 4/4/06).
Ex-Local Treasurer in Arizona Charged with Thefts
On March 15, Edward Johnson, a former treasurer for National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 704, was indicted by a federal grand jury for embezzling union funds. Johnson, 53, the indictment alleges, stole $4,790 from the Sierra Vista, Ariz.-based local while serving as its treasurer. Labor Department records show that he had written unauthorized checks to himself between May 2001 and May 2002. Two months later, Johnson left his post, noted current local President Dan Verslius. Sierra Vista is located about 70 miles southeast of Tucson. (Associated Press, 3/18/06, OLMS, 4/4/06).
Pennsylvania Local Secretary-Treasurer Sentenced, Fined
On March 8, William Skursky, former secretary-treasurer of Local 2-672 of the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania to two years probation with six months electronic monitoring for making false entries in union records. The purpose of his actions was to conceal thefts of more than $6,000 in union funds. He also was ordered to pay $1,980 in outstanding restitution. Skursky pleaded guilty in November. (OLMS, 4/4/06).
Ex-Secretary for St. Louis Local Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
On March 3, Linda Hosleton, former recording secretary for Local 282 of the United Auto Workers, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to one count of embezzling $1,444.50 in union funds. (OLMS, 4/4/06).