On March 14, Deborah Anthony, former financial secretary of United Steelworkers of America Local 1196, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania to one count of embezzling $1,245.45 in union funds. The actual amount taken was far greater. The plea agreement requires Anthony to make $34,134.47 in restitution. She had been charged in November with eight counts of embezzlement totaling nearly $7,000 and one count of falsifying union records. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards. (OLMS, 4/4/08).
Former Treasurer in Ohio Charged with Embezzlement
On March 12, William Day, former treasurer of Steelworkers Local 1-1462, was charged in an information count in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio with embezzlement from his union in the amount of $11,140.88. He subsequently pleaded guilty. (OLMS, 4/4/08).
Local President in Michigan Sentenced for Bank Robbery
On March 10, Darren Johnson, former president of National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 78, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to three years of supervised release, including six months in a community corrections center, and ordered to make restitution in the amount of $13,748.50 and attend a substance abuse program. He pleaded guilty in December. (OLMS, 4/4/08).
Colorado Treasurer Pleads Guilty to One Count of Forgery
On March 7, William J. Kohut, former treasurer of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1755, pled guilty in the Court of Adams County, Colorado to one count of felony forgery. He had been charged last May with various offenses related to his illegal conversion of union funds in the amount of $2,839.65. Adams County is in the eastern part of the Denver area. (OLMS, 4/4/08).