Linda Woodford admits she acted stupidly. She should have thought about that beforehand. On June 12, Woodford, former president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 727D, was charged in Dunn County (Wisconsin) Circuit Court with embezzling more than $4,000 from the Menomonie-based union, which represents nursing home employees. The charge follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.
Woodford, now 41, a resident of Glenwood City (St. Croix County), headed the union during December 2015-July 2017. According to prosecutors, she used the last few months of her tenure to steal $4,055.37 by writing more than two dozen unauthorized union checks either to herself or other people and by making one unauthorized cash withdrawal. In October 2018, more than a year after her dismissal, she admitted writing the checks. She emphasized that she “needed the money” and used the union checking account as her personal account “a couple of times,” calling such acts “stupid.” She now has ample time to get smart.