On May 25, David Taylor, formerly financial secretary for Carpenters and Millwrights Local 1402, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to 12 months and one day in prison and fined $35,074.18. Last October he pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements on Department of Labor financial reporting forms in order to cover up his embezzlement of $72,422 in union funds. He previously paid full restitution plus more than $14,000 in interest to the Richmond-based union, affiliated with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. The sentencing comes after an investigation by the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards. (OLMS, 6/12/07).
Upstate New York Local Treasurer Sentenced for Embezzlement
On May 24, James Russell, formerly treasurer of Local 9 of the Stage and Picture Operators, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York to five years probation, including six months of home confinement, and ordered to make restitution for theft. Russell pled guilty in January to one count of embezzling $54,776.45 worth of funds from the Syracuse union, which is affiliated with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. The sentencing follows an investigation by the Department of Labor (OLMS, 6/12/07).
Kansas Local Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
On May 23, William Kendrick, former treasurer of Local 238 of the American Postal Workers Union, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas to conspiring to embezzle union funds. Kendrick, along with Dwayne Giles, former president of the Kansas City, Kan.-based local, co-signed checks allowing Kendrick to embezzle $26,237 in union funds. Kendrick had been charged back in February. (OLMS, 6/12/07).
Seattle Ex-Financial Secretary Charged with Embezzlement
On May 17, Thomas Ehlis, ex-financial secretary of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1769, was charged in federal court for the Western District of Washington with one count of embezzlement of union assets in the amount of $5,619.90. (OLMS, 6/12/07).
Washington, D.C. Local Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Theft
On May 25, Quentin Womack, former secretary-treasurer of the Conference of Firemen and Oilers Local 1050, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, pleaded guilty in District of Columbia Superior Court to one count of second-degree theft, and was sentenced to a 120-day suspended sentence. Additionally, he received nine months of supervised probation and was ordered to make restitution. Womack had been charged in March with one count of first-degree theft from his union in the amount of $3,326.80. (OLMS, 6/12/07).
Former Treasurer in Suburban Denver Charged with Theft
On May 23, William J. Kohut, ex-treasurer of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1755, was charged in the County Court of Adams County, Colorado with one count each of identity theft, unauthorized use of a financial transaction device and forgery in connection with his conversion of union funds totaling $2,839.65. (OLMS, 6/12/07).
Massachusetts Ex-Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Larceny
On May 25, Norman M. Haskins, former treasurer of National Association of Government Employees Local 01-62, pled guilty in Massachusetts (Pittsfield District) State Court to larceny in an amount greater than $250. He was ordered to make $2,192 in restitution and pay an assessment of $50. (OLMS, 6/12/07).