The U.S. Border Patrol, overworked as it is in guarding our border with Mexico, shouldn’t have to worry about guarding the finances of its local unions. Unfortunately, as long as the locals have members like Janalyn Buseck, they will. Buseck, a resident of Yuma, Arizona, has been accused of embezzling funds from American Federation of Government Employees Local 2595, which represents border guards working along the Yuma sector. According to a criminal complaint filed in Yuma County Superior Court, Buseck, 45, who had served as the union’s secretary-treasurer, diverted money from the union to pay off personal credit card bills during 2002-04.
The allegations arose after an audit conducted in 2004 by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS). Buseck was indicted this past July on two counts of Class 3 felony theft. While the court file indicates no dollar figure for the funds taken, Arizona state law defines a Class 3 felony theft as the taking of property and/or services having a value of between $4,000 and $25,000. She is set to go on trial on January 16. (Associated Press, 12/20/06).