Posts tagged Department of Labor Office of Labor-Management Standards
How a Biden federal employee got paid for ‘teleworking’ while actually spending four DAYS in jail on a DUI charge
August 15, 2024 // Vargas was also arrested on three other occasions, including for multiple DUIs, between 2020 and 2022. During that time, she also served as the former president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3138. Read More EXCLUSIVE Social Security whistleblower reveals 'weeks to months' response time for 'simple requests' due to telework abuse article image In April 2023, Vargas allegedly 'confessed' to an AFGE staff member that she misappropriated $17,000. However, after a review, the federation found that the amount was actually closer to $20,500. In August 2023, she was 'suspended' from all AFGE affiliated offices.
Former Local 98 President Brian Burrows Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Embezzlement of Union Funds, Filing False Government Reports, and Tax Fraud
June 28, 2024 // United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Brian Burrows, 64, of Mount Laurel, NJ, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl to 48 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, forfeiture of $135,689.11, an $1,800 special assessment, and restitution to be determined later, for crimes arising from his embezzlement of funds belonging to Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (“Local 98”). Burrows had served as the President of Local 98 since 2008. The only person who held a higher office in the union was his codefendant, Business Manager John Dougherty.
Former Union President Ordered to Serve Probation and Pay Restitution for Embezzling Union Funds
May 3, 2023 // Crystal R. Mathis, the former president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1812, was sentenced to 12 months, suspended, and three years of probation for embezzling funds from the union. The sentence was announced today by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Mark Wheeler, Director of the Washington District Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards. Mathis, 51, of Cheverly, Maryland, pleaded guilty in February 2023, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to one count of first-degree theft. She was sentenced by the Honorable Errol R. Arthur, who also ordered her to pay more than $10,000 in restitution to the union and ordered three years of supervised release.
Southeast Iowa man sentenced for embezzlement and theft of labor union assets
April 21, 2023 // According to court records, James Darin Boatman, 53, of New London, embezzled and stole union funds for his personal use. Boatman is the former president of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 617 Union. UFCW Local 617 members include production workers and skilled trade workers at the Conagra plant in Fort Madison. An investigation revealed Boatman, the president of the union from 2010 until 2019, set up a credit card in the union’s name, without authorization, and from at least May 2017 to August 2019 used the card for personal expenses, including vacations to Florida, large repairs on his personal vehicle, and to pay for attorney representation for an unrelated matter.
Op-ed: Corruption in the Labor Movement: Labor Rackets
November 17, 2022 // Corruption by labor union officials, whether in service to themselves, political allies, or organized crime syndicates, has been a fixture of American labor history since the labor movement first began to organize in the late 19th century. While the extent of criminal influence in organized labor has declined thanks to extensive federal law enforcement activity and judicial oversight, major corruption scandals continue to dog the union movement. From the recent kickback scheme at the United Auto Workers to the downfall of Philadelphia union boss and political fixer Johnny Doc Dougherty to the confession of former Teamsters boss John Coli, who was well connected to Chicago politicos, systemic corruption persists.