Transit Union Secretary in NW New Jersey Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement

Angel Garcia was a part-time bus driver. He also was a part-time thief. On June 23, Garcia, former financial secretary for Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1614, pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to embezzling about $117,000 in funds from the union, listed as based in Morris County and Sussex County, N.J. At various points during June 2014-May 2019, alleged prosecutors, he withdrew funds from three separate accounts to pay for rent, utilities, telephone, and other personal items and services, without executive board approval. Sentencing is set for November 17. He had been charged last December following an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.