Paul S. Peters II and Brian Armentrout helped guard the Baltimore waterfront. Someone should have been guarding them before they managed to pilfer what prosecutors say was more than $300,000 from their union treasury. Peters and Armentrout, respectively, the former president and recording secretary of Waterfront Guard Association (WGA) Local 1852 in Baltimore, recently were indicted on 18 embezzlement-related charges by a federal grand jury in that city. Each faces up to five years in prison.
According to the indictment, unsealed on March 26, the two during January 2002-September 2005 embezzled funds from the union’s pension and welfare plans, and from its general operating account. They used the money to pay for personal expenses, including motor vehicles, home improvements, stock transactions, home mortgage payments, and boarding for horses. Peters allegedly withdrew pension and welfare funds and deposited them into the general fund. Then, he and Armentrout made cash withdrawals or wrote out checks payable to themselves. The indictments follow an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General and Employee Benefits Security Administration. (U.S. Justice Department, 3/26/09).