On January 15, Richard Klemser, former treasurer of International Association of Machinists Lodge 1041 in West Long Branch, N.J., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey to embezzling roughly $60,000 during January 2004-March 2008. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department. (OLMS, 1/28/09).
Committee Co-Chairman in Ohio Pleads Guilty to Records Fraud
On January 14, Jeffrey Baker, former co-chairman of the Picket Committee for International Association of Machinists Lodge 1943, pleaded guilty to one count of making a false entry in records of the Middletown, Ohio union. Following his plea, he made $16,050 in restitution. Baker had misappropriated more than 100 benefit fund checks, forging member signatures on virtually all of them. (OLMS, 1/28/09).
Upstate New York Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
On January 7, Carol Bruno, former treasurer of New York State Civil Service Employees Association Region IV, pled guilty to one count of embezzling $16,118.57 in union funds and agreed to make full restitution. She had been charged last October of theft from the Albany, N.Y.-based union, an affiliate of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. (OLMS, 1/28/09).
Texas Local Secretary-Treasurer Indicted for Embezzlement
On December 22, Danny Tilley, formerly secretary-treasurer of the Texas Building and Construction Trades Council, based in Austin, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas on one count of embezzling $9,719 in union funds. (OLMS, 1/28/09).
Former Secretary-Treasurer in Colorado Sentenced for Thefts
On December 19, Linda Peterson, former secretary-treasurer for American Postal Workers Union Branch 715, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado to two years probation, three months home detention and 100 hours of community service for embezzling public and union funds. She also will have to pay $6,505 in restitution and $200 in special assessments. Peterson had pleaded guilty in August. Branch 715 is in Pagosa Springs, located in the southern part of the state, about an hour’s drive east of Durango. (OLMS, 1/28/09).
Cleveland Secretary-Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Theft
On January 15, Willie Harris, former secretary-treasurer of Local 2823 of the American Federation of Government Employees, pleaded guilty in the Court of Common Pleas of Cuyahoga County, Ohio to theft in the amount of $5,395. He had been indicted in November for theft, misuse of a credit card and unauthorized access to a computer. The guilty plea follows a joint probe by the Departments of Labor and Veterans Affairs. (OLMS, 1/28/09).