Mary Hartsock is living proof that longevity with an employer is no guarantee of honesty. The ex-office manager for Laborers International Union of North America Local 1358, based in Elmira, N.Y., pleaded guilty on October 29 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York to embezzling $17,958 in funds. Hartsock, 49, a resident of nearby Millport, N.Y., had served in her position from 1980 until January 2007. Federal prosecutors charged that from January 2002 until her dismissal five years later, she converted union receipts to her own use by not depositing or reporting member dues payments. The guilty plea came as the result of an investigation by the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards. (Elmira Star-Gazette, 10/30/07; OLMS, 11/1/07).
St. Louis Ex-Financial Secretary Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
On October 12, Kathy Rankin, former financial secretary-treasurer for Local 512 of the Transportation Communications International Union (TCIU), pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $15,622.34. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards. The TCIU, headquartered in Rockville, Md., is the successor union to the Brotherhood of Railway Clerks, and has been affiliated with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) since 2005. The ongoing merger is set for completion by no later than the end of 2012. (OLMS, 11/1/07).
Ex-President of Kansas City, Kan. Local Sentenced for Theft
On October 1, Dwayne Giles, former president of Local 238 of the American Postal Workers Union, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas to five years probation for conspiracy to embezzle union funds. He also was ordered to make $11,959.44 in restitution and serve six months in home confinement. Giles had pleaded guilty back in May. Former Local 238 Treasurer William Kendrick had been sentenced in August in federal court to five years probation and six months home confinement for embezzling $26,235.94 from the local. (OLMS, 11/1/07).
Seattle-Area Secretary-Treasurer Sentenced for Embezzlement
October 5, Thomas R. Ehlis, former secretary-treasurer of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1768, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington to two years probation for embezzling $5,619 in union funds. Ehlis, who had been charged back in May, already has made full restitution. (OLMS, 11/1/07).
Detroit Local Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
On October 12, Denise Nichols, former financial secretary-treasurer for Communications Workers of America Local 4050, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to embezzlement from the union in the amount of $3,804.20. She had been indicted in August. (OLMS, 11/1/07).
Ex-Officers of Mississippi Local Plead Guilty to Attempted Fraud
On October 18, Luke Funchess, Charles Funchess, Roger Hartley, Patricia West-Benson and Jack Virgil, former officers of International Union of Electronic, Electric, Salaried, Machine and Furniture Workers (IUE) Local 83-799, were charged in the Justice Court of Copiah County, Mississippi (south of Jackson) with one count of obtaining a signature or thing of value with intent to defraud. The former officers had filed false vouchers to obtain funds. They pleaded guilty to the charges, and were ordered to pay restitution and court fees. The IUE is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America. (OLMS, 11/1/07).
Ohio Local Treasurer Pleads Guilty to False Record-Keeping
On October 17, Sandra Gorman, formerly treasurer of Ohio Civil Service Employees Association Local 11’s ODOT (Ohio Department of Transportation) Assembly, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio to one count of falsification of union records. The union is affiliated with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. (OLMS, 11/1/07).