Jo-Anne Micheletti’s transition last year was voluntary. Her transition this year was involuntary. On Monday, August 21, Micheletti, former president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1339, was charged in Providence Superior Court with embezzling $6,946 from the union, which represents public school clerical workers in that city’s school system. She submitted her resignation from her job as a school administrator on August 16 after having been placed on administrative leave in April. Micheletti had been arrested by Rhode Island State Police in April. She had worked for the AFSCME local for a dozen years until she assumed her more recent position last year.
According to police, Micheletti, a resident of Warwick, made a series of unauthorized withdrawals from the union account during 2014-16. The pattern of theft unraveled when the current union president, Charlene Vela, discovered that money was missing and then asked AFSCME Council 94 to conduct an internal audit. The probe concluded Micheletti indeed had stolen the funds. A State Police affidavit stated that there was $1,129 unaccounted for after Micheletti had made several deposits to the union account.