For four years Jesse Morgan headed a union that represented county jail employees. He’s now likely to experience what it’s like to be a federal prison inmate. On February 25, Morgan, former president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1707, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri on 29 counts of fraud in connection with embezzlement of more than $185,000 in union funds during nearly his entire tenure in office. The indictment, which contains a forfeiture allegation, follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.
According to federal prosecutors, Morgan, now 38, a resident of Kansas City, Mo., during November 1, 2008-October 22, 2012, engaged in various schemes to rip off AFSCME Local 1707, which represents employees of the Jackson County, Missouri Department of Corrections. He allegedly did the following: 1) made $69,540 in electronic payments from a union bank account to others for his own benefit; 2) made $56,231 in unauthorized ATM withdrawals from union bank accounts; 3) made $50,091 in unauthorized counter withdrawals from union bank accounts; and 4) wrote $9,700 in unauthorized checks from a union bank account. It was not known whether Morgan had an attorney. If not, now would be a good time to get one.