On March 13, Gloria Porter, former president of National Federation of Federal Employees Local 2049, an affiliate of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico to 70 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for fraud in connection with embezzlement of union funds. In addition to serving time, Porter also will have to pay $143,457.50 in restitution plus a $300 special assessment. She had been convicted on more than 100 counts at a jury trial last June following her indictment in December 2010 for stealing about $135,000. The union represents various employees at the White Sands Missile Range near Las Cruces, New Mexico. The actions follow a probe by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards, the FBI and the Las Cruces Police Department.
