On June 11 and 12, Lawrence Marable and Deborah Powell, respectively, the former president and treasurer of American Federation of Government Employees Local 1793, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to one count of conspiracy, five counts of property theft, and one count of making a false statement. Marable and Powell had conspired to convert $184,129.85 in dues and union checks for their personal use. The local represents employees at the VA Medical Center in Philadelphia. The guilty pleas follow a joint investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Inspector General. (OLMS, 7/5/07).
Michigan Local Treasurer Secretary Sentenced for Theft
On June 12, Linda Holden, former financial secretary of Local 6-639 of the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to two years probation, including 180 days of home confinement. She also was ordered to pay $74,090.09 in restitution. Holden pleaded guilty last August to one count of embezzling union funds in that amount. PACE formally no longer exists, having merged in 2005 with the United Steelworkers of America. The sentencing follows an investigation by the Labor Department. (OLMS, 7/5/07).
Former NYC Local Treasurer Sentenced for Embezzlement
On June 22, Willie Dell Clark, ex-treasurer of National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 36, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to 180 days of home confinement to be followed by a three-year probationary period including 250 hours of community service. He also will have to pay $69,095.60 in restitution and a $100 special assessment to the union, which represents letter carriers in Manhattan and the Bronx. Clark had pleaded guilty in July 2004 to one count of embezzling union funds in the same amount. (OLMS, 7/5/07).
Ex-New Jersey Local President Sentenced for Embezzlement
On June 27, Maria Clayton, former financial secretary-treasurer of Glass Molders & Plastics Workers Local 236A, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey to six years probation, including three months of home confinement, for embezzlement from her union. She also was ordered to make $41,126 in restitution and continue counseling. Clayton pleaded guilty last December. (OLMS, 7/5/07).
Treasurer of Ohio Local Sentenced for Embezzlement
On June 22, Deborah Walters, former treasurer of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 11, Chapter 8330, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio to six months home confinement and five years probation for embezzling union funds. She also will have to make restitution in the amount of $25,891.11. Walters pled guilty in March. AFSCME Local 11, Chapter 8330 represents employees at the Warren Correctional Institution. (OLMS, 7/5/07).
Illinois Financial Secretary Sentenced for False Record Entries
On June 12, Jeffrey Hohlbauch, former financial secretary of AFSCME Local 3600, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois to two years probation for willfully making false entries in union records. Hohlbauch in April pleaded guilty to concealing his embezzlement of $5,073. The local represents employees at the Lawrence Correctional Center in Sumner, Ill. (OLMS, 7/5/07).
Southern Illinois Former Financial Secretary Pleads Guilty
On June 13, Jeffrey Klope, ex-financial secretary of Boilermakers Lodge 8-S, pled guilty in federal court for the Southern District of Illinois to one count of embezzlement. He had been charged in January with stealing $25,794 from the union. (OLMS, 7/5/07).
District Regional Boss Sentenced for Embezzlement
On June 22, Kermit Dorsey, former regional administrator for Communications Workers of America District 7, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to 500 hours of community service to be completed within three years and a term of probation to expire at the completion of service. Dorsey pleaded guilty in March to embezzling $22,798.29 in union funds. CWA District 7, headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado, represents about 55,000 workers from more than 150 employers. (OLMS, 7/5/07).
Atlanta Local Ex-Chieftain Sentenced for Thefts
On June 21, Kenneth E. Hilbish, formerly president of Local 528 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, was sentenced in federal court for the Northern District of Georgia to three years probation and ordered to pay $7,000 in restitution. He had embezzled $21,305 from his union during 2001-02, pleading guilty in October to theft of that amount. In addition to serving his sentence, he will be barred from holding union office for 13 years. (OLMS, 7/5/07).
Washington State Union President Sentenced for Embezzlement
On June 15, James F. Hill, former president of Fellow Associates Involved in Representation, an independent union, was sentenced to four years probation, assessed a fee of $100 and ordered to make restitution to the union in the amount of $9,456. He pleaded guilty in March to embezzlement. The union represents employees at Lasco Bathworks in Yelm, Thurston County, not far from Olympia. (OLMS, 7/5/07).
Nebraska Local President’s Wife Convicted of Forgery
On June 23, Nancy Stanek, wife of Stanley Stanek, president of the Omaha-based United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers Local 85, was convicted in the Sarpy (Papillion) County Court of second-degree forgery and sentenced to 12 months’ probation. She had pleaded guilty in April 2006 to forging more than $5,000 in unauthorized checks drawn against the local account. Mr. Stanek was not charged with any offense. (OLMS, 7/5/07).
Former Secretary-Treasurer of Southern Illinois Local Sentenced
On June 18, Vicky Liefer, formerly secretary-treasurer of United Mine Workers of America Local 1458, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois to three years probation and ordered to make restitution of more than $5,000 to her union. Liefer, a resident of Waterloo, Ill., pled guilty in March to one count of embezzlement. The local went defunct last October, having representing workers at the Consolidated Coal Company mine in Modoc, Ill., which closed in 2003. (OLMS, 7/5/07; other sources).