Federal court bars former administrators of Plainville, Connecticut pension plans from future service to employee benefit plans

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Hartford, Connecticut – The U.S. Department of Labor has succeeded in obtaining a federal court order prohibiting the third party administrators to the retirement plans of Wasley Products Inc. in Plainville, Connecticut, from serving as fiduciaries to any employee benefit plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) in the future.

The department recently filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut against Barry Leonard Bulakites and James Albert Winslow for alleged violations of ERISA. Between late 1990 and November 1, 2002, the defendants served as third party administrators to the company’s defined benefit plan for unionized employees and its 401(k) plan for non-union, salaried employees. The suit alleged that the defendants received employee and employer contributions on behalf of the plans, but did not always transmit the assets to plan accounts.

“These defendants diverted the employee contributions to bank accounts to which they had access,” said James Benages, regional director for the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) in Boston. “They then used that money for their own purposes.”

Since Wasley Products and certain employees and retirees had previously sued the defendants to recover the diverted funds, the Labor Department’s suit focused only on ensuring that the defendants could not repeat their unlawful actions. The consolidated private suits resulted in a $1.8 million judgment against these defendants and other parties.

“This case is a good example of how the Labor Department cooperates with private litigants when their goal is also the enforcement of plan participants’ rights under ERISA,” said Benages.

This case was investigated by EBSA’s Boston Regional Office. Employers and workers can reach EBSA at 617.565.9600 or toll-free at 866.444.3272 for help with problems relating to private sector retirement and health plans. In fiscal year 2007, EBSA achieved monetary results of $1.5 billion related to pension, 401(k), health and other benefits for millions of American workers and their families. Additional information can be found at www.dol.gov/ebsa.

Chao v. Barry Leonard Bulakites, et al
Civil Action Number: 3:08-CV-361 (SRU)

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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.