On June 5, James A. Pulsifer, a certified public accountant, was sentenced to one year of probation and fined $1,000 for knowingly making false entries in the annual Labor Department reporting form of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA). In the course of making accounting adjustments, he had misclassified some $500,000 in union expenditures. SPEEA officers who signed the report believed it was free of errors and in compliance with federal regulations. Pulsifer was charged in November and pleaded guilty in February. The union, based in Seattle, represents professional employees of Boeing, BAE Systems and other aerospace companies. The action comes in the wake of an investigation by the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards. (OLMS, 6/15/07).
Former Treasurer of Atlanta Union Indicted for Embezzlement
On or around May 31, Kirk Tuttle, former treasurer of the Professional Airline Flight Control Association (Delta), worked out a deal with federal officials, making restitution to avoid indictment for embezzling funds from the union in the amount of $172,846.16. The charge follows an investigation by the Labor Department. The Atlanta-based PAFCA, established in 1971, represents air traffic controllers for Delta, United and Atlantic Southeast Airlines. (OLMS, 6/15/07).
West Virginia Financial Secretary Charged with Theft
On June 5, Danny E. Beyser, former financial secretary for Local 1638 of the United Mine Workers of America, was charged in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia of one count of embezzling $83,274.39 in union funds. (OLMS, 6/15/07).
Ex-Officer of Arkansas Local Indicted for Embezzlement
On June 8, a federal grand jury in Little Rock charged Martin K. Hayes, formerly an officer with United Steelworkers of America Local 1671, with embezzling more than $9,000 from the union. According to the indictment, Hayes’ actions occurred between January 2001 and November 2005. The local represents workers at National Wire Fabric in Star City, Ark. Since July 2005, members have been involved in a bitter strike against the company, a subsidiary of the Netherlands-based Gamma Holding, Inc. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 6/11/07; OLMS, 6/15/07; other sources).
Alabama Local Treasurer Sentenced for Embezzlement
On June 4, Kenneth H. Mays, former treasurer of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1053, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to five years probation for embezzling funds from the Demopolis, Ala. union. He also will have to pay $37,197 in restitution and a special $100 assessment. Mays pleaded guilty in January. (OLMS, 6/15/07).
Ex-Treasurer in Michigan Indicted for Filing False Reports
On June 5, Brad Harper, formerly treasurer of Local 1629 of the American Federation of Government Employees, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan on three counts of filing false LM-3 financial reports to the Department of Labor. The local is based in Battle Creek. (OLMS, 6/15/07).