Ryan Jones pushed his luck too far. Now he’s about to experience the downside. Two days ago, February 12, Jones, former secretary-treasurer of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge S6, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the District of Maine to 18 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for embezzling more than $280,000 in funds from the union, which represents a large number of employees at the Bath Iron Works shipbuilding facility. He also was ordered to make full restitution. Jones had pleaded guilty last September after being indicted in August. The actions follow a probe by the FBI, the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards and Bath local police.
Jones, now 35, a resident of Bath, had served as secretary-treasurer of his union from 2009 until January 2017, when he failed to win re-election. According to prosecutors, he spent much of that time serving himself. When the new leaders took over the local, they discovered major discrepancies in the balance sheets and asked federal authorities to conduct an investigation. The FBI and the DOL each concluded that Jones had stolen funds. During the period May 2012-November 2016, he did the following: made almost 200 unauthorized withdrawals from the union bank account; fabricated monthly bank statements to conceal his withdrawals; and provided the fabricated bank statements to union auditors. Grand total: $280,865. Union officials are confident that their bonding company will cover the losses.