On October 24, Krista Yeatts, former office manager of International Association of Machinists Local 2444, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina to embezzling union funds in the amount of $47,746.01. She was charged in July. The union is based in Winston-Salem. The plea follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards. (OLMS, 11/5/08).
Ex-Bookkeeper in Cincinnati Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
On October 22, Rebecca Montgomery, former bookkeeper/office secretary of the Machinists Eastern Regional Office in Cincinnati, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio to embezzling union funds in the amount of $509. Montgomery, charged in August, previously had made full restitution in the amount of $14,340. (OLMS, 11/5/08).
Minnesota Financial Secretary Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
On October 22, Kathleen Kordish, former financial secretary of United Steelworkers of America Local 9349, pleaded guilty in St. Louis County District Court of Minnesota to theft by false representation in excess of $2,500. Kordish, charged in April, had been suspected of embezzling $19,148.54 from the Hibbing union. (OLMS, 11/5/08).
Vice President of Wisconsin Local Pleads Guilty to Fraud
On October 22, Eugene Huss, area vice president of Steelworkers Local 20, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to two counts of falsification of union records and agreed to make restitution in the amount of $2,000. He had been indicted in May on more than a dozen counts of embezzlement of funds totaling roughly $1,600 from the Kaukana-based union. (OLMS, 11/5/08).
Treasurer of Philadelphia Local Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
On October 24, Grace Gaines, ex-treasurer of Local 4973 of the American Federation of Teachers, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to four counts of embezzlement of union funds totaling $15,597. The guilty plea follows a joint investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards and Office of Inspector General. (OLMS, 11/5/08).
Former Nevada Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Fraud
On October 27, Janet Louise Johnson, former treasurer of American Federation of Government Employees Local 2152, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada to theft from the Reno union. She had been indicted in June for credit card fraud in the amount of $11,251.44. (OLMS, 11/5/08).
Westchester County, N.Y. Local President Sentenced for Theft
On October 16, Glenroy Richards, former president of AFGE Local 2440 in Montrose, N.Y., was sentenced to five years supervised probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $11,243. During the period July 2006-November 2006, Richards used his union debit card to make unauthorized withdrawals from the union checking account. He had pleaded guilty in July. (OLMS, 11/5/08).