On February 27, Leonard Bridge II, former business manager for International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 131, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico on 20 counts of embezzling funds from the Albuquerque-based union. He entered a plea of not guilty and was released pending trial. Bridge, now 43, served as business manager for the union during January 2009-November 2011. Prosecutors allege that during April 2009-August 2011 Bridge embezzled a combined $140,000 on 20 occasions. He carried out his scheme by writing unauthorized checks on the union bank account, and making unauthorized cash withdrawals from the union bank account. The indictment follows a probe by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.
