Raul Mascote is a good example of the expression, “There’s a lot more where that came from.” On April 14, Mascote, former secretary-treasurer of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Lodge 2458, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to one count of embezzling funds in the amount of $62,263 from the Minooka (near Joliet)-based union. He had been charged last July following a joint investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards and the U.S. Energy Department’s Office of Inspector General. Prosecutors had alleged Mascote knowingly had converted $510,973 worth of U.S.-government property to his personal use. This latter sum was not reflected in the original charge. However, pursuant to federal guidelines, it will be considered in determining his sentence.
