On May 3, Walter Fisher, former treasurer for Local 1949 of the United Transportation Union, pleaded guilty in federal court for the District of Maryland to one count of embezzling funds from the Ellicott City-based union in an amount greater than $30,000 but less than $70,000. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the Labor Department. (OLMS, 5/30/07).
Former Secretary-Treasurer of Pittsburgh-Area Local Sentenced
On May 9, Stephen Kostelac, former secretary of the Donora, Pa.-based Local Lodge 906 of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania to six months home detention and five years probation. He also will be required to pay $26,079.38 in restitution plus a $100 special assessment. Kostelac, 51, a resident of Fayette City, Pa., pleaded guilty in February to one count of embezzling union funds during the period January 2000-June 2002. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 5/11; OLMS, 5/30/07).
Michigan Local Ex-President Pleads Guilty to Concealment
On May 15, Claudia R. Thompson, formerly president of Local 513 of the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to one count of making false entries in financial records. She had concealed her embezzlement of $26,201 in union funds during the period June 2004-August 2005. The local represents employees of Marsh Plating Corp. and Finishing Systems, Inc., each based in Ypsilanti. PACE in April 2005 formally merged with the United Steelworkers of America. (U.S. Department of Justice, 5/16/07; OLMS, 5/30/07).
Kentucky Local Financial Secretary Pleads Guilty to Theft
On April 26, Richard Plummer, former financial secretary of Local 3191 of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, pleaded guilty in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, 39th Judicial Circuit, to one count of theft by unlawful taking, and was sentenced to five years of probation. He previously had made restitution to the union in the amount of $6,182. Local 3191 is based in Beaver Dam, in the western part of the state, between Bowling Green and Owensboro. (OLMS, 5/30/07).
President of Oregon Union Indicted for Theft, False Entries
On April 25, Marlene Watson, formerly president of the Associated Field Representatives, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon on one count of embezzling $9,030 and one count of falsifying union financial disclosure records to cover up the thefts. (OLMS, 5/30/07).