On June 16, Kurt Swanstrom, former financial secretary of United Steelworkers Local 5-1560, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio to three years probation and ordered to pay $12,327.52 in restitution plus a $150 special assessment. Swanstrom pled guilty in March to embezzlement, falsification of union records and filing false financial reports. The local is based in Ashland, Ohio. (OLMS, 7/7/08).
Former Local Treasurer in Ohio Sentenced for Embezzlement
On June 26, Michelle Meek, former treasurer of American Federation of Government Employees Local 3435, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio to five years probation and 50 hours of community service, and ordered to make $7,278 in restitution. Meek pleaded guilty in April to embezzlement from the Columbus-based union. The sentencing follows a joint investigation by the Department of Labor and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. (OLMS, 7/7/08).
Oklahoma Secretary Pleads Guilty to False Record-Keeping
On June 25, Lea Ann Newton, former office secretary of Local 807 of the International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of falsifying union records. She agreed to make restitution in the amount of $6,133.19, an amount in addition to the $2,795.81 in restitution she already has paid to the Oklahoma City union. (OLMS, 7/7/08).