On December 16, Sarah Crafts, former office manager of the Austin-based Texas Building and Construction Trades Council, was charged in U.S. District Court with one count each of embezzlement and conspiracy totaling $27,197, plus one count of embezzlement of $17,478. The charges follow an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards. (OLMS, 1/9/09).
Former Treasurer in Philadelphia Indicted for Embezzlement
On December 11, Peter Rhein, former treasurer of American Federation of Teachers Local 3845 in Philadelphia, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on six counts of embezzling union funds totaling more than $40,000 and eight counts of making a false statement. (OLMS, 1/9/09).
Florida Ex-Local President Sentenced for Theft
On December 30, Luther Corey, former president of Local 1197 of the Amalgamated Transit Union in Jacksonville, Fla., was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida to 180 days of home confinement and four years of supervised release for theft of union funds. He pleaded guilty in October to embezzlement in the amount of $16,288.37. He will have to pay restitution plus a $100 special assessment. (OLMS, 1/9/09).
Ohio Local President Sentenced for Embezzlement
On December 16, Kenneth Saltz Jr., former president of United Steelworkers of America Local 1124, was sentenced in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio to six months home confinement and two years probation for embezzling $15,809.03 in union funds. He had pleaded guilty in September after making full restitution. The local is based in Massillon. (OLMS, 1/9/09).
Kentucky Local Treasurer Charged with Embezzlement
On December 11, James Decker, former treasurer of the Independent Soft Drink Workers Union in Burlington, Ky., was charged in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky with embezzling $11,380.37 in union funds. (OLMS, 1/9/09).
Former Treasurer of Ohio Local Sentenced for Theft
On December 19, Roxanne Eye, former treasurer of Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 339, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio to two years probation and 60 hours of community service for embezzling $9,296 in local funds. She pled guilty in June after making full restitution. The local is based in Brook Park, a suburb of Cleveland. (OLMS, 1/9/09).
New York Local President Charged with Theft
On December 17, Thomas Daniels, former president of Local 1091 of the American Postal Workers Union, was charged in the Criminal Court of White Plains, N.Y. on one count of theft in the amount of $4,250 in union funds. The charge follows a joint investigation by the Labor Department and the U.S. Postal Service. (OLMS, 1/9/09).
Upstate New York Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Records Fraud
On December 23, Michael Pagano, former business agent/secretary-treasurer for Local 74 of the Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York to falsifying and destroying union records. The union is located in West Seneca, a suburb of Buffalo. (OLMS, 1/9/09).