Don Padgett will be living in federal prison for a while. The irony is that not long ago he ran the finances of a federal prison employees union. Padgett, formerly secretary-treasurer of Local 1304 of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), on September 4 was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois to 21 months in prison for mail fraud in the amount of $185,042.89. He also will have to make restitution. He pleaded guilty in May.
Federal prosecutors had charged that Padgett, 39, a resident of Granite City, Ill., during November 20, 2001-May 23, 2008 issued unauthorized checks to himself, made unauthorized purchases on the union credit card and falsified information on union financial reports to the U.S. Department of Labor. AFGE Local 1304 represents correctional officers at the Greenville, Illinois federal prison. The sentencing follows an investigation by the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.