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.
On February 7, 2025, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Susan E. Miller, former Treasurer of American Postal Workers Union (APWU) Local 95 (located in Lancaster, Pa.), was charged in an information with one count of embezzling union funds, one count of false reporting, and one count of false records, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c), 29 U.S.C. 439(b), and 29 U.S.C. 439(c), respectively. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia-Pittsburgh District Office.
On February 6, 2025, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Vincent A. Wolf, former Financial Secretary of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 623 (located in Freedom, Pa.), pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia-Pittsburgh Office.
On February 3, 2025, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Antoine Shepard, former office administrator of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 1168 (located in Bronx, N.Y.), was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay $32,323, in restitution and forfeiture, and a $25 special assessment. On October 1, 2024, Shepard pleaded guilty to one count of bank larceny, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2113(b). The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS New York District Office.
On January 29, 2025, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, James Callahan, former General President of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) (located in Washington, D.C.), pleaded guilty to one count of false statements in labor organization officer and employee reports, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 439(b). Callahan failed to disclose at least $315,000 worth of tickets to sports, concert, and theater events, he received from a vendor with which the union did business, on LM-30 reports he filed covering 2019 through 2023. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.
On January 15, 2025, in the United States District Court for New Jersey, Raymond Woodall, former Business Manager of Iron Workers Local 11 (located in Bloomfield, N.J.), was charged in an information with one count of wire fraud, and one count of making or subscribing to a false tax return, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343 and 26 U.S.C. 7206(1), respectively. Woodall then pleaded guilty to the charges. Woodall disbursed over $4 million dollars of unauthorized union funds to an advertising agency on behalf of the union. In return he received $240,221 in concert tickets, sporting event tickets, and tickets to other entertainment venues. The charges and guilty plea follow an investigation by the OLMS New York District Office.
On January 13, 2025, in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Northern Division, Michael Wayne Nelson, former Secretary Treasurer of Sheet, Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers Transportation Division (SMART TD) Local 496 (located in Wheelersburg, Ohio), pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement of union funds in the amount of $35,748, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati-Cleveland District Office.
Last Updated: 2-19-25