John McGovern took nearly five years to plead guilty. He’s hoping he can get a shorter sentence. On November 3, McGovern, former secretary-treasurer of American Postal Workers Union Local 190, pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to conspiring with ex-President Gary Weightman to embezzle between $120,000 and $200,000 from the Clifton, N.J. union. Each had been indicted in February 2006. Weightman pleaded guilty to separate tax evasion charges in December 2008 and is awaiting sentencing. The indictment indicated McGovern and Weightman diverted a combined $400,000 during April 2000-October 2002, concealing the thefts by destroying financial records. The guilty pleas follow a joint investigation by the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
