On January 26, 2012, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Joseph Barnes, former National Director for the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Union (located in Washington, D.C.), was indicted on four counts of embezzlement from a labor organization in the amount of $4,380, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office with assistance from the OLMS Los Angeles District Office.
On January 26, 2012, in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, Helen Stupka, former office secretary for the Ohio State Plumbers Association (located in Columbus, Ohio), was sentenced to 11 months of confinement (suspended), four years of community control, and was ordered to make restitution in the amount of $13,372.91. On December 14, 2011, Stupka pled guilty to one count of theft. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Cleveland District Office.
On January 26, 2012, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Vance Valentine , former Secretary-Treasurer of United Transportation Union (UTU) Local 524 (located in Willis, Tex.), pled guilty to one count of filing false reports with the Secretary of Labor, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 439(b). The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS New Orleans District Office.
On January 25, 2012, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Tommy Harris, former Treasurer of National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 1230 (located in Griffin, Ga.), was sentenced to four years of probation, 11 months of electronically monitored home confinement, 200 hours of community service, and was ordered to pay $24,646.82 in restitution (of which $4,646.82 was outstanding) and a $100 special assessment. On November 17, 2011, Harris pled guilty to one count of embezzlement totaling $24,646.82, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Atlanta District Office.
On January 25, 2012, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Marqueeta Tibbs, former office secretary for Carpenters Local 437 (located in Portsmouth, Ohio), pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to embezzle union funds in the amount of $84,903, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 371. Tibbs was indicted on September 21, 2011. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati District Office.
On January 24, 2012, in the United States District Court of Rhode Island, Kenneth Aurecchia, former Regional Vice President of the Plumbers International Union and former business manager for Plumbers Local 51 (located in East Providence, R.I.), pled guilty to one count of wire fraud in the amount of $107,515 and one count of filing a false tax return in the amount of $17,886. The guilty plea follows a change of plea hearing that was filed on December 1, 2011. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Boston District Office, the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, the Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the Department of Treasury’s Providence Office.
On January 23, 2012, in the Fountain County Indiana Circuit Court, Brianna Gates, former Financial Secretary of Steelworkers Local 7-975 (located in Fairmount, Ill.), pled guilty to two counts of Theft, Class D Felonies. Gates was then sentenced to three years of probation, 50 hours of community service for each year of her sentence, and was ordered to pay the remaining balance of $1,729 toward the total restitution amount of $3,975. The guilty plea and sentencing follow an investigation by the OLMS Chicago District Office.
On January 23, 2012, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Sheila Valentine, spouse of Vance Valentine, former Secretary-Treasurer of United Transportation Union (UTU) Local 524 (located in Willis, Tex.), pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS New Orleans District Office.
On January 23, 2012, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, Tracy Ford, former Secretary-Treasurer of Machinists Lodge 1528 (located in Modesto, Calif.), was sentenced to five years of probation which includes 10 months of home detention with electronic monitoring (with the exception of work). Ford was ordered to pay $174,100 in restitution and a $125 special assessment. On September 2, 2011, Ford pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c) and one count of 29 U.S.C. 439(b). The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS San Francisco District Office.
On January 20, 2012, in the State of Louisiana, 26th Judicial District, Parish of Bossier, John Wayne Walker, former President of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 2000 (located in Shreveport, La.), was sentenced for felony theft. Walker’s sentence was deferred pursuant to Article 893 for five years. He has also been placed on active probation for five years with the following special conditions: (1) comply with Article 893; (2) make restitution of $16,057.75 over probation period; (3) pay $75 per month for supervision fees; and (4) pay a fine of $500 and cost over probation. On January 20, 2012, Walker pled guilty to one count of felony theft of $16,057.75 in union funds, in violation of Louisiana Revised Statute 14:67. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS New Orleans District Office.
On January 19, 2012, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Ronald W. Witt, former business manager of International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 450 (located in Houston, Tex.), pled guilty to one count of conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 371. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS New Orleans District Office and the Employee Benefits Security Administration.
On January 19, 2012, in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Joseph Pavone, former President of Laborers Local 560 (located in Waltham, Mass.), was sentenced to two years of probation and was ordered to pay $6,466 in restitution and a $1,000 fine. On October 19, 2011, Pavone pled guilty to three counts of receipt of an unlawful labor payment, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 186. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Boston District Office and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.
On January 18, 2012, in the United States District Court for the District of Alaska, Carole Reeves, former office manager for Sheet Metal Workers Local 23 (located in Anchorage, Alaska), was charged in an information with one count of embezzling $19,000 in labor union funds, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). The information follows an investigation by the OLMS Seattle District Office.
On January 18, 2012, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Linda Favela, former Treasurer of United Steelworkers Local 6703 (located in Riverside, Calif.), was charged with five counts of embezzlement totaling $12,510, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Los Angeles District Office.
On January 18, 2012, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, Alyson Harmon, former office assistant and bookkeeper for the now defunct Carpenters Local Union 281 (located in Binghamton, N.Y.), was sentenced to five years of probation and was ordered to pay $29,876.57 in restitution. On September 23, 2011, Harmon pled guilty to embezzling $20,481.57 in cash receipts from Local 281. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Buffalo District Office.
On January 13, 2012, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Jennine Prince, former bookkeeper/office secretary for Iron Workers Local 3 (located in Pittsburgh, Pa.), was sentenced to two years of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $494,598.89 and a $100 special assessment. Prince was permitted to voluntarily surrender to begin her prison sentence, but not later than March 30, 2012. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Pittsburgh District Office.
On January 11, 2012, in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, Michael Martin, former President of American Postal Workers Union (APWU) Local 3093 (located in Norwalk, Conn.), pled guilty to one count of embezzlement of mail by an employee of the United States Postal Service (USPS) in the amount of $11,320.61, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1709. In addition, Martin admitted to embezzling $8,880.78 in union funds. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Boston District Office and the USPS’s Office of Inspector General.
On January 10, 2012, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Victor Rovani III, former business representative of United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Local 454 (located in Philadelphia, Pa.), was indicted and an arrest warrant issued for three counts of embezzlement totaling $8,322, one count of bank fraud, and two counts of deprivation of a union member’s rights pertaining to internal union matters. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia District Office.
On January 10, 2012, in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Urbana Division, Natasha J. Bever, former Treasurer of Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 4202 (located in Rantoul, Ill.), was indicted on one count of issuing unauthorized payroll checks to herself in the amount of approximately $117,378, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Chicago District Office.
On January 9, 2012, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, Derrick George, former Secretary-Treasurer of Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWE), IBT, Sub-Lodge 76 (located in Leon, W.Va.), was sentenced to three years of probation, including eight months of home confinement, and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $17,932.07. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Pittsburgh District Office and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.
On January 6, 2012, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Joseph Meizlik, former President of Security, Police, Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA) Local 454 (located in Fort Lee, Va.), pled guilty to one count of embezzling $9,122.44 in union funds, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office.
On January 4, 2012, in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, Toni Lancaster, former office manager for United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, Millwrights & Machine Erectors Local 711 (located in Portland, Ore.), was sentenced to five months of home confinement, three years of probation, and was ordered to pay full restitution and a $100 special assessment. On September 19, 2011, Lancaster pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $68,403, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Seattle District Office.
On January 4, 2012, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, Pamela S. Hinzman, former Treasurer of American Postal Workers Union Local 1580 (located in Parkersburg, W.Va.), was charged in a one-count indictment for embezzling $26,260.68 in union funds. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Pittsburgh District Office.
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Criminal Enforcement Actions 2012
An indictment is a formal accusation or charge based on a finding by a Grand Jury that it is likely that the person charged committed the criminal offense described in the indictment and is the means by which an accused person (defendant) is brought to trial. An indictment raises no inference of guilt. As in all criminal cases, each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
An information is a formal accusation of a crime by a government attorney rather than a Grand Jury. An information raises no inference of guilt. As in all criminal cases, each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
A charge is an accusation of criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. As in all criminal cases, each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Each count is a separate and distinct offense charged in an indictment or information.
A guilty plea is a defendant’s admission to the court that he or she committed the offense charged and an agreement to waive the right to a trial.
A conviction is a judgment based on a jury’s verdict, judge’s finding, or the defendant’s admission that the defendant is guilty of the crime charged.
A sentence is a judicial determination of the punishment to be imposed on an individual who has plead guilty or has been convicted by a jury or judge of a criminal offense.
Source: Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS)
