The news for Jonathon Ortino keeps getting worse. On June 4, Ortino, former president of National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 165, was charged in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in a six-count superseding indictment with offenses relating to his making unauthorized electronic funds transfer in the sum of $4,500 from a union account to a personal account. He previously had been charged in March 26 in a three-count indictment with concealing the thefts in three consecutive annual financial reports. The actions follow an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.
According to the original charges, Ortino, now 43, a resident of San Bruno, Calif., falsely stated in LM-3 statements to the Labor Department that NTEU Chapter 165 made no loans of more than $250 to any union officer or member during 2014, 2015 or 2016. Moreover, he allegedly understated the amount of allowances and disbursements he had received from the union in 2014 and 2016. The superseding indictment added three counts of wire fraud. Ortino had pleaded not guilty following the original indictment. He might not be so predisposed this time around.