Posts tagged embezzle
Ex-top MS Coast labor union official accused of embezzlement in 29-count indictment
July 8, 2022 // The former secretary and treasurer of a Mississippi Coast labor union pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal charges in a 29-count indictment accusing her of forging checks or other securities to embezzle over $33,000. Lisa Michelle Bennett, 50, had an arraignment in federal court in Gulfport on Tuesday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert P. Myers appointed a federal public defender to represent Bennett before she pleaded not guilty to one count of embezzlement and 28 counts of uttering forgery. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Meynardie
UAW members challenge Ray Curry for union presidency
July 5, 2022 // Instituting direct elections of United Auto Workers' international officials is leading some members to step up and challenge President Ray Curry to the union's top role, even from within Solidarity House. Passage last year of the "one member, one vote" system by a referendum vote of the membership was brought on by a years-long corruption scandal, implicating 17 people, including two former UAW presidents. It's setting up a historic leadership selection process ahead of next year's critical contract negotiations with the Detroit Three automakers as their transition to electrification increasingly affects shop floors and as the union covers an increasingly diverse swath of members. court-appointed UAW monitor, Reuther or Administrative Caucus, pension and retirement health-care benefits, socialist,
Former St. Louis postal union president sentenced for embezzling union funds
July 1, 2022 // ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - A former president of a local postal workers union was sentenced to five years of probation and six months of house arrest for embezzling $80,000 by U.S. District Judge Rodney Sippel. Scott E. Rodgers, 51, embezzled a total of $80,756 and was also ordered to pay back the money. Rodgers became president of Postal Mail Handlers Local 314 in 2016 and has made four unauthorized ATM withdrawals up until April 2020. Officials said the withdrawals were made from the union account using the union debit card for personal purchases including meals, fuel, transportation, shopping, and travel. U.S. Attorney Tiffany Becker,
Bookkeeper who disappeared arrested in $500K embezzlement
July 1, 2022 // “Kathryn successfully completed 189 fraudulent deposits into one, or a combination of three personal checking accounts for a total of $316,318.59,” police said. “Of those 189 deposits, 123 were fraudulent payroll deposits which cost JCORD an additional $32,038.67 in taxes, $28,862.43 in union dues and $125,260.59 in union trust payments.” Kathryn Mari Trygstad, missing persons, Henderson, JCORD LLC, unauthorized and fraudulent transactions,
Former New Bedford police union treasurer sentenced for stealing $50,000 in union funds
June 30, 2022 // “Mr. Fernandes took an oath to protect and serve the people of New Bedford. Instead, he violated the trust bestowed upon him by both the New Bedford community and his fellow officers,” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins in a press release. “For several years, Mr. Fernandes stole tens of thousands of dollars in union funds and recklessly spent it on a range of personal expenses including beach vacations, phone bills and online dating. Adding insult to injury, he tried to cover up his theft by backfilling the depleted accounts with more stolen funds from the union’s retirement investment account. Public officials who misuse their positions of trust for their own personal enrichment will be prosecuted. No one is above the law.” U.S. Attorney Rollins, FBI SAC Bonavolonta and Jonathan Russo, district director of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor Management Standards made the announcement Monday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia M. Carris, deputy chief of Rollins’ Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit, prosecuted the case. Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Joshua Fernandes, U.S. Senior District Court Judge, Mark L. Wolf
Judge sentences former Illinois state lawmaker Thomas Cullerton to a year in prison for embezzlement
June 22, 2022 // Prosecutors said that within weeks of being sworn in as a state senator, Cullerton was added to the payroll of the Teamsters union as an organizer. As a union organizer, Cullerton was expected to work 40 hours a week to attract new members, support union picket lines and attend union events. During his three years with the union, Cullerton collected $248,828 in payments and benefits. "Indeed, he was a ghost payroller who invariably did little to nothing over this three-year period," prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo. "The defendant’s immediate supervisors tried to get Cullerton to work, but he was, in the words of one supervisor, 'never available.' ... So rare was the defendant present for work that the union did not even bother to keep track of his use of vacation time – because he was effectively on a permanent vacation." Brett Rowland, Judge Robert Gettleman, John Lausch Jr., Amarjeet Bhachu, Erika Csicsila,
Feds want up to 18 months in prison for ex-state Sen. Thomas Cullerton in Teamsters ghost payrolling scheme
June 9, 2022 // Cullerton, 52, a Democrat from Villa Park, was charged in 2019 in an indictment alleging he pocketed more than a quarter of a million dollars in salary and benefits from the Teamsters union despite doing little or no work. He pleaded guilty to embezzlement in March, two weeks after abruptly resigning from office. Ex Sen. Thomas Cullerton, do-nothing job, Judge Robert Gettleman, U.S. Attorney Erika Csicsila, U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu, Independent Review Board, video gaming company, felony conviction, organizer, permanent vacation, former village president of Villa Park, distant cousin of former Senate President John Cullerton, political dynasty
Another Union Boss, IBEW’s Connie Deal, Pleads Guilty
May 28, 2022 //
President Biden Sides Against Union Rank-and-File
May 5, 2022 //
Former treasurer-secretary of local union charged with embezzling $30K
April 30, 2022 // The former treasurer-secretary of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen Division 26 was charged federally this week with embezzling more than $30,000 from the local labor union over five years.