The seasons may be changing, but union bosses are still up to the same old tricks. Read more about this Fall’s best labor rackets below.
In Missouri, Yvette Luster, former Treasurer of Postal Mail Handlers Local 314, was charged with one count of embezzlement of labor union assets in the amount of $184,138.
In West Virginia, Cathy Byers, former Treasurer of American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 6540, was sentenced to eight months of home confinement and five years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment. Byers previously paid $22,000 in restitution. On June 16, 2020, Byers pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in the approximate amount of $22,000.
In Kentucky, Rocky Gannon, former President of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 2302, was sentenced to 15 months of home incarceration, four years of probation, and 250 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay $116,353 in restitution and a $1,200 assessment. On June 25, 2020, Gannon pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud and nine counts of forged securities.
In North Dakota, Chad Michael Waldoch, former Secretary-Treasurer of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation (SMART) Workers Local 980, was sentenced to 30 months of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $50,270 and a $100 assessment. Waldoch previously paid $56,436 in restitution. On June 12, 2020, Waldoch pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement of union funds in the amount of $107,707.
In South Carolina, Dana Roush, former President of American Postal Workers Union (APWU) Local 403, was sentenced to 60 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $10,089. On October 22, 2019, Roush pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement of union funds.
In California, Marcus Asay, founder of the American Labor Alliance (ALA), was charged in a 19-count superseding indictment for wire fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and money laundering.
In California, Antonio Gastelum, a former officer of the American Labor Alliance (ALA), was charged in a 19-count superseding indictment for wire fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and money laundering.
In Indiana Superior Court, Misty Fain, former office manager for Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 120, pleaded guilty to three counts of theft of union funds with a value of at least $750 and less than $50,000. Fain was then sentenced to one year in prison (suspended) and one year of probation. She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $10,000.
In Texas, Harold Bryan Weatherford, former Treasurer of National Staff Organization (NSO), Professional Staff Association, pleaded guilty to embezzlement of union funds totaling $82,560.
In Texas, Edward C. Davis, Jr., former Secretary-Treasurer of Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) Division 620, pleaded guilty to embezzlement in the amount of $61,386.
In Texas, Edward C. Davis, Jr., former Secretary-Treasurer of Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) Division 620, was charged in a criminal information with one count of embezzlement of union funds in the amount of $61,386.
In New York, Brian Arnold, former Financial Secretary of United Steelworkers of America (USW) Local 104M, was sentenced to two years of probation including six months of home confinement with electronic monitoring. He was also ordered to pay $33,224 in restitution and a fine of $3,000. On June 9, 2020, Arnold pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement of union funds.
In New York, Kenneth Wynder Jr, former President of the Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association (LEEBA), was charged in a 13-count superseding indictment for wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, tax evasion, false statements to federal agents, and obstruction of a grand jury investigation.
In New York, Steven Whittick, former Treasurer of the Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association (LEEBA), was charged in a 13-count superseding indictment for wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, tax evasion, false statements to federal agents, and obstruction of a grand jury investigation.
