Curious where union dues go? Sometimes, they go straight into union bosses’ pockets. Below are this week’s best rackets:

• In Delaware, Lon Sullivan, former Treasurer of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 644, was charged with one count of wire fraud in the amount of $8,647. He pled guilty to the charge and agreed to pay $96,809 in restitution.
• In the District of Columbia, Gary Cooper, a contractor associated with Laborers Local 657, was sentenced to 68 months in prison, 36 months of probation, and 120 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay $1,632,000 in restitution. Why? Last November, Cooper was convicted of one count of conspiracy to embezzle from a labor organization, one count of conspiracy to make unlawful labor payments, one count of wire fraud, and two counts of money laundering. He stole $1.7 million from the union.
• Also in Washington, D.C., Juan Carlos Recinos, former business manager for Iron Workers Local 201, pled guilty to one count of Fraud in the Second Degree, on the condition that he repay the seven union members he stole from prior to sentencing. Recinos pled guilty to stealing $26,900 from seven union members when he told them that they had to pay him cash from their back-pay awards to pay an attorney that helped obtain the back pay. There was no attorney involved.
• In Minnesota, William Winecke, former Treasurer of the Soo Line Locomotive and Car Foremen’s Association, pled guilty to one count of theft surpassing $35,000. On the same date, Winecke was sentenced to 30 days of confinement and four years of probation, and he was also ordered to pay fees totaling $504. Winecke previously made $29,000 in restitution.

Check back next week for more stories of labor losers and deadbeats.