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Labor Racket Weekly: Fraud, Fountain Pens, and a Ferrari

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Every week, we bring you the most egregious and sometimes ridiculous tales of union corruption. This week is no exception, with numerous fraud counts and even a Ferrari involved:

  • In Indiana, Thomas Rodgers, former General Chairman of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) General Committee of Adjustment (GCA) 247, was charged in an information with a level 6 felony theft of $3,672.
  • In Iowa, Curtis Lang, former President of the United Dairy Workers of LeMars, was sentenced to one year of confinement, six months of home confinement, three years of supervised release, and he was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $95,223 and a $100 special assessment. On May 8, 2017, Lang pled guilty to one count of embezzlement.
  • In Michigan, Alphons Iacobelli, former Vice President of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), was charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) and two counts of violating the LMRA for paying and delivering over $1.2 million in prohibited payments and things of value. Who was on the receiving end? The late General Holiefield, former Vice President of the United Auto Workers (UAW), Holiefield’s wife Monica Morgan, and other UAW officials. The prohibited payments and things of value, which occurred between 2009 and 2014, included designer clothing, jewelry, furniture, and paying off the $262,219 mortgage on Holiefield and Morgan’s residence.
    • Iacobelli was also charged with an additional count of conspiracy and four counts of failing to report on his 2012-2015 individual tax returns approximately $2.1 million in union funds that he diverted to pay for a $350,000 Ferrari 458 Spider, private jet, pool, two limited edition Mont Blanc pens costing $75,000, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in improvements to his residence, among other purchases.
  • In Ohio, Guy Gokey, former Financial Secretary of Glass Molders and Plastics (GMP) Local 59, pled guilty to one count of embezzlement in the amount of $14,074.
  • In Oklahoma, William Bryles, former President of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 2406, was charged and pled no contest to four counts of felony embezzlement. He then signed a three-year deferred sentence order and was ordered to pay $11,174 in restitution and court costs.
  • In Pennsylvania, Michael Evans and William Uggiano, former President and former Treasurer, respectively, of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 1699, were both charged in a one-count information for conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
  • In Rhode Island, Christopher Hayes, former Rhode Island Police Department Sergeant and former President of Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge 8, was sentenced to six months of imprisonment followed by six months of home confinement, three years of supervised release, 300 hours of community service, and he was ordered to pay $71,523 in restitution. On May 1, 2017, Hayes pled guilty to one count of wire fraud. Hayes admitted to the court that between August 2009 and December 2014, he converted approximately $71,523 in union funds for his own personal use.

Check back next week for more shady deals and scandalous splurging.
Categories: Labor Racket WeeklyUAW