October 2011 Big Labor Criminal Roundup

October 2011 Big Labor Criminal Roundup

From the US DOL we find that union corruption and criminal behavior continues.   Here are some highlights from October: Patricia Moore, former employee and Secretary-Treasurer of the National Union of Protective Services Associations (NUPSA), located in Washington, D.C., with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for obtaining $109,866.17 from NUPSA and the National Union of Law Enforcement Associations (NULEA) for her personal use. Frank Rago, former Representative of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and former President of ILA Local 1604 (located in Stoneham, Mass.), was sentenced to one year and one day incarceration followed by three years supervised release. Rago was also ordered to pay $216,384.57 in restitution. Freda Hensley, former President of Steelworkers Local 8-14505 (located in West Logan, W.Va.), pled guilty to a one count indictment of 29 U.S.C. 501(c) for embezzling $38,539.68 in union funds. The full list from DOL: On October 19, 2011, in the United States District Court of Massachusetts, Joseph Pavone, former President of Laborers Local 560 (located in Waltham, Mass.), pled guilty to three counts of receiving unlawful labor payments in the amount of $6,466.80, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 186(b)(1) and (d)(2).  The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Boston District Office and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General. On October 17, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, Freda Hensley, former President of Steelworkers Local 8-14505 (located in West Logan, W.Va.), pled guilty to a one count indictment of 29 U.S.C. 501(c) for embezzling $38,539.68 in union funds.  The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Pittsburgh District Office. On October 14, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Dennis Lee McGee, Jr., former President of Steelworkers Local 9-9506 (located in Bynum, Ala.), pled guilty to three counts of 29 U.S.C. 501(c) for embezzling union funds totaling $1,950.  McGee was then sentenced to three years probation and was ordered to pay $7,600 in restitution and a $300 special assessment.  The guilty plea and sentencing follow an investigation by the OLMS Nashville District Office. On October 14, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York, Thomas Wagner, former Financial Secretary of Steelworkers Local 897 (located in Cheektowaga, N.Y.), was sentenced to two years of supervised probation and was ordered to make restitution of $5,526.  On June 26, 2011, Wagner pled guilty to falsifying union records. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Buffalo District Office. On October 13, 2011, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, a criminal information was filed charging Patricia Moore, former employee and Secretary-Treasurer of the National Union of Protective Services Associations (NUPSA), located in Washington, D.C., with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for obtaining $109,866.17 from NUPSA and the National Union of Law Enforcement Associations (NULEA) for her personal use, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 371.  The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office, the Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General, and the Employee Benefits Security Administration. On October 13, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Max Messamore, former President of National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 2039 (located in Somerset, Ky.), was sentenced to two years probation, fined $500, and was ordered to make restitution in the amount of $2,293.77.  He was also ordered to pay a special assessment of $25.  On May 19, 2011, Messamore pled guilty to failing to maintain union records, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 439(a).  The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati District Office. On October 12, 2011, in the County of Westmoreland in the state of Pennsylvania, Lesa Major, former Secretary-Treasurer of Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 14821 (located in Monessen, Pa.), was sentenced for Theft by Unlawful Taking which had been reduced to a misdemeanor at sentencing.  Major paid restitution of $2,500 prior to sentencing and as stated in the plea agreement, probation was terminated when restitution was paid.  The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Pittsburgh District Office. On October 11, 2011, in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada, Nichelle Alstatt, former Secretary-Treasurer of the Professional Office Personnel Alliance (POPA), located in Las Vegas, Nev., was sentenced to five years probation, with a series of special conditions which included the successful completion of substance abuse and mental health treatment and the completion of 40 hours of community service.  Alstatt was also ordered to pay $51,613.37 in restitution through a garnishment of her wages and a lump sum court assessment of $150.  On June 8, 2011, Alstatt pled guilty to one count of embezzlement in the amount of $51,636.37, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c); one count of making false entries in required records, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 439(c); and one count of making false entries in reports required to be filed under the LMRDA, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 439(b).  The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Los Angeles District Office.
Finally, Someone Takes on the Obama Administration's Big Labor Paybacks in Court

Finally, Someone Takes on the Obama Administration's Big Labor Paybacks in Court

The National Right To Work Legal Defense News Release (5/24/2011): Union Member Seeks to Block Obama Labor Department’s Efforts to Roll Back Union Disclosure Rules Department guts disclosure rule that has exposed numerous corrupt union boss schemes and let rank-and-file members know how dues are spent Washington, DC (May 23, 2011) – With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a Maryland county government employee is asking a federal court to stop the Obama Administration from allowing union bosses to conceal lavish and corrupt union expenditures from workers. Chris Mosquera, a member of a Municipal County Government Employee Local of the United Food and Commercial Worker (UFCW) union, filed the lawsuit against Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for rescinding a union boss disclosure rule which would make it less difficult for workers to hold union officials accountable. Unions covered by the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) with total annual receipts of $250,000 or more are currently required to submit annual financial statements to the U.S. Department of Labor. LM-2 forms are the public disclosure documents for these larger unions and are available online on the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) website. These forms have helped workers and citizen activists expose many unscrupulous union boss schemes, including lavish benefits to high-ranking union officials and loyalists, superfluous spending on union boss transportation (including private jets), and shady political spending (such as the Service Employees International Union bosses’ links to the disgraced political organization ACORN). Mosquera seeks to intervene for the millions of workers who are forced by federal mandate to accept union boss “representation” and pay union dues or fees to a union in order to get or keep their jobs. The lawsuit alleges that Solis exceeded her power as Secretary of Labor by repealing a January 2009 LM-2 Final Rule because the rule put a “burden” on union officials to report their expenditures to the public. However, under federal law, Solis cannot use “burden” as a justification for rescission of a rule. Solis further overstepped her legal authority by singlehandedly creating a new rule that allows union bosses to more easily evade and circumvent the LMRDA.