On July 10, Betty Illig, former secretary-treasurer for Graphic Communications International Union Local 638-S and the Tri-State District Joint Council, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio to serve five years supervised release, one year of which must be spent in home confinement, serve 200 hours of community service, and pay $145,675 in restitution for embezzling union funds and submitting false records. She pleaded guilty in February. The local is located in East Liverpool, south of Youngstown. The sentencing follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards and Office of Inspector General. (OLMS, 7/16/08).
Bookkeeper for Houston Local Sentenced for Embezzlement
On July 7, Heather Lott, former bookkeeper for International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 19 in Houston, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 18 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for theft of union funds in the amount of $140,952. She pled guilty to embezzlement in April. (OLMS, 7/16/08).
Indiana Local Official Sentenced for Embezzlement
On June 30, Norman K. Brown, former bargaining committee chairman for Local 2911 of the United Auto Workers, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana to two years probation, including six months of home detention, for embezzling local funds. He also will have to pay $41,478 in restitution and a $100 special assessment. Brown pleaded guilty in March. The Fort Wayne union represents workers at International Truck and Engine Corporation, makers of Navistar Trucks. (OLMS, 7/16/08).
Local Secretary-Treasurer in Texas Sentenced for Embezzlement
On July 9, Kyle Batts, former secretary-treasurer of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 738, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas to three years probation and order to pay $40,580.83 and a $100 fine. He pleaded guilty in February to embezzlement of funds in the same amount. The local is located in Tyler. (OLMS, 7/16/08).
Former President of New Jersey Local Pleads Guilty to Theft
On July 8, 2008, David Denman, former president of National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 272, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey to embezzling $20,000 in funds from the Newton, N.J. local. The guilty plea follows a joint investigation by the U.S. Labor Department and the U.S. Postal Service. (OLMS, 7/16/08).
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES (AFSCME)
Upstate New York Local President Sentenced for Thefts
On June 23, June Wilkins, former president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 625, was sentenced in the County Court of St. Lawrence County, New York to four months imprisonment to be followed by five years probation. She pleaded guilty in May to two counts of third-degree grand larceny from the Potsdam, N.Y. union. Wilkins previously made restitution in the amount of $15,730.92. In addition to serving her sentence, she will have to pay an additional $689.03 in restitution plus $3,102 in probation costs. (OLMS, 7/16/08).
Philadelphia Ex-Local Treasurer Charged with Embezzlement
On July 9, Grace Gaines, former treasurer of Local 4973 of the American Federation of Teachers, was charged in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania with embezzling nearly $15,600 in union funds. She allegedly issued unauthorized checks from a union account payable to herself and also cashed checks payable to the local. (OLMS, 7/16/08).