On January 22, Michael Griffie, an associate of a Cincinnati-area contractor, Electrical Innovations, pleaded guilty in Hamilton County, Ohio Court of Common Pleas to one count of unauthorized use of property. He had been charged back in March with aggravated theft of property or services worth at least $100,000 from International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 212, and with tampering with market recovery forms and forging market recovery fund forms for the purpose of defrauding the local. The no-contest plea follows an investigation by the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards. The co-owners of Electrical Innovations, Rachetta Johnson and Charlene Monroe, were sentenced last September to five years probation and 500 hours of community service after pleading guilty to theft by deception. (OLMS, 1/25/07).
Ex-Office Manager in Minnesota Sentenced for Embezzlement
On January 8, Kathryn Stark, former office manager for IBEW Local 31, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to six months of home confinement to be followed by 15 days home detention and three years supervised release for embezzling union funds. She also was ordered to pay $50,376.89 in restitution plus an additional $26,783.64 in investigative costs incurred by the local. A Minneapolis federal grand jury indicted Stark in September following a Labor Department investigation. The Duluth-based Local 31 represents utility workers in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. (OLMS, 1/25/07).
New York Ex-Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
On January 19, James Russell, former treasurer for Local 9 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, pled guilty in federal court for the Northern District of New York to one count of embezzlement of union funds in the amount of $54,776.65. He had been indicted back in April for embezzling funds in the same amount. (OLMS, 125/07).
St. Louis Secretary Sentenced, Ordered to Make Restitution
On January 12, Danna France, formerly secretary-treasurer for Local 96 of the American Federation of Government Employees, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to five years probation for thefts from her union and was ordered to make $26,950.90 in restitution. She had pled guilty in October to one count of submitting a report with false information to the Labor Department. She, along with local President Mary Love, were convicted in November by a federal jury of diverting a combined roughly $70,000 to personal use. AFGE Local 96 represents workers at two VA hospitals in Missouri. (OLMS, 1/25/07).
Southern Illinois Ex-Financial Secretary Indicted for Theft
On January 11, Jeffrey Klope, former financial secretary for International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Lodge 8-S, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois on one count of embezzling $25,794 in union funds. (OLMS, 1/25/07).
Former Secretary-Treasurer in Illinois Indicted for Embezzlement
On January 11, Vicky Liefer, former secretary-treasurer for United Mine Workers Local 1458, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, on one count of embezzling more than $5,000 in union funds. (OLMS, 1/25/07).
Illinois Local Secretary Indicted for False Record-Keeping
On January 11, Jeffrey Hohlbauch, formerly financial secretary for Local 3600 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois on one count of making a false entry in union records. (OLMS, 1/25/07).