Danny Woodcock tempted fate dozens of times. Fate was bound to catch up with him. And it did. On November 3, Woodcock, former president of Communications Workers of America Local 83770, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi on 48 counts related to his embezzlement of more than $300,000 from the Columbus, Miss.-based union. He pleaded not guilty and is currently free on bond. The indictment follows a probe by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.
According to court records, Woodcock, now 64, a resident of Caledonia (Lowndes County), Miss., during February 2013-September 2016 made almost monthly unauthorized transfers, most commonly in sums of between $5,000 and $6,500, from the local checking account to his own personal account. The indictment read: “…Danny Woodcock, while an officer, that is, President of Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 83770, a labor organization engaged in an industry affecting interstate commerce, did embezzle, steal and unlawfully and willfully abstract and convert to his use the moneys, funds, securities, property, and other assets of CWA Local 83770; that is, Danny Woodcock transferred money directly from the bank account of CWA Local 83770 into his personal bank account for his own personal use…” Final tally: $302,969. The defendant faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.