On December 2, Tiffany Freeman, Tiesha Hamer, Lavinia Smith, LaDonna Turner and Britton Russia were charged in Hamilton County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas with forging more than $40,000 in checks belonging to Local 1 of the American Federation of Musicians. The alleged stolen amounts from the Cincinnati-based union are: Freeman, $2,260; Hamer, $749; Smith, $2,500; Turner, $15,800; and Russia, $21,309. Russia also was charged with receiving stolen property. The charges follow a probe by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.
