Posts tagged Pleaded guilty
Ex-Illinois lawmaker abruptly pleads guilty to fraud and money laundering, halting federal trial
February 16, 2024 // A state senator from 2011 to 2019, McCann formed the Conservative Party of Illinois to campaign for governor in 2018. A criminal indictment in 2021 outlined numerous schemes McCann employed to convert contributions from his campaign committees to buy vehicles, pay an overdue loan, two mortgages, credit card bills and fund a family vacation, entertainment and other purchases. For his unsuccessful run for governor, he collected more than $3 million dollars from Local 150 of the International Union of Operating Engineers alone. Despite being questioned four times by FBI and IRS agents in summer 2018 about alleged improper spending, he tore through $340,000 in leftover campaign funds for personal expenses in the year after the election.
United Steelworkers Boss Brian Gerald Sentenced For Crimes
October 16, 2023 // On September 20, 2023, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Brian Gerald, former Financial Secretary of the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 13-189 (located in Bogalusa, La.), was sentenced to six months of home confinement and 60 months of probation. He was also ordered to pay $112,594 in restitution ($60,000 due within 60 days of the judgment) and a $100 special assessment. On April 24, 2023, Gerald pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement from a labor union, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Dallas-New Orleans District Office.
Former Pa. Corrections Union President Facing Six Felony Theft Charges
August 10, 2023 // Corrections officers searching for the truth about their union’s finances have helped expose financial corruption within the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association (PSCOA) that has led to criminal charges for two different union officials and major reforms within the union. In July, former PSCOA president Jason Bloom was charged by state police with six felony counts of theft for allegedly using the union’s credit card for personal expenses totaling $8,286. According to court filings in filed by concerned corrections officers, PSCOA officials also spent members’ money on golf outings, NFL tickets, a $12,000 Rolex watch, iTunes purchases, and personal expenses totaling more than $200,000 on union credit cards.
11 Plead Guilty in Construction Union Bribery Scheme
December 23, 2022 // Cahill was the ring leader of the scheme, accepting envelopes stuffed with cash in restaurant restrooms from a construction contractor whose name was not revealed by the attorney’s office. Cahill introduced the contractor to many of the 10 others who pleaded guilty. Some of the other union officials accepted anywhere from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars in illegal payments. Cahill also directed the contractor on how to win union favors yet not have to hire union workers. According to the attorney’s office, the contractor would pay the bribes to the union officials to win projects in the jurisdiction of Steamfitters Local 638 in New York City and Long Island and Plumbers Local Union 200 in Nassau and Suffolk counties.
One of Johnny Doc’s closest allies pleaded guilty weeks before the labor leader’s next trial — and she’s not alone
December 19, 2022 // The political director of the city’s powerful electrician’s union and a close confidante of former labor leader John Dougherty pleaded guilty Monday to federal fraud charges just weeks before she was scheduled to stand trial alongside him and four others accused of embezzling more than $600,000 from union coffers. Marita Crawford, who has served as the face of Local 98 the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ influential political lobbying operation for more than a decade, resigned her postition and admitted in court to using union finds to pay for a 2015 hotel stay on a personal trip to watch the Belmont Stakes and for pricey birthday dinners for herself and Dougherty. The plea deal she struck with prosecutors will not require her to cooperate with investigators or testify against Dougherty or her codefendants. She will face up to 20 years in prison on each of the counts to which she pleaded guilty at a sentencing hearing scheduled for April. Prosecutors in recent weeks have approached all the defendants in the case — including Local 98′s president Brian Burrows and Michael Neill, the head of its apprentice training program — with plea offers
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,
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,
President Biden Sides Against Union Rank-and-File
May 5, 2022 //
Elon Musk takes jab at UAW over $2M embezzlement scandal, says Tesla made some of its workers millionaires
March 29, 2022 // Reacting to the news, Musk quipped that UAW’s slogan ought to be: "Fighting for the right to embezzle money from autoworkers." He added that the UAW stole millions from workers, whereas Tesla has made many of its workers millionaires through stock grants.
Former Illinois state Sen. Tom Cullerton pleads guilty to 1 count of embezzlement
March 15, 2022 // The indictment also alleged that Cullerton “repeatedly failed to respond to efforts by his supervisors at Teamsters Joint Council 25 to contact him and routinely ignored their requests that he perform the job functions of an organizer, as was required of other organizers employed by Teamsters Joint Council 25.”