On February 8, Mechelle Busse, aka Mechelle Singleton, former office manager of United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 568, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi to embezzling slightly over $110,000 in funds from the Gulfport union. She had been indicted in August for taking the money during June 2005-December 2007. She originally pleaded not guilty. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.
