On April 21, Stephen Priest, former financial secretary of Local 516 of the United Auto Workers, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware to 24 months in prison, fined $100, and ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluation and treatment for embezzling $97,899.19 from the Middletown-based union. Priest, who already has made restitution, pleaded guilty in December. The sentencing comes after an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards. (OLMS, 5/2/08).
Florida Secretary Indicted for Embezzlement, Records Violations
On April 16, Sheila Rushing, former office secretary for Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers International Union Local 482 in Jacksonville, Florida, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida for embezzling $17,133.01 in union funds, plus destruction of and making false entries in union records. (OLMS, 5/2/08).
Ex-President of Ohio Local Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud
On April 14, Brian Dolney, former president of Lodge 2333 of the International Association of Machinists, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio to bank fraud in the amount of $11,565. He had been charged in February. The union is based in Dayton. (OLMS, 5/2/08).
Wisconsin Local President Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
On April, Kim Van Handel, former president and acting treasurer of United Steelworkers of America Local 1980 in Appleton, pled guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin to embezzlement of union funds in the amount of $11,500. She had been charged in January. (OLMS, 5/2/08).
Former Vice President of NE Indiana Local Sentenced for Thefts
On April 14, Fredrick W. Jones, former vice president of Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers International Union Local 285, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana to six months home confinement and one year of probation, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment and undergo drug testing. He pleaded guilty to embezzlement of funds from the Fort Wayne union in January. (OLMS, 5/2/08).