U.S. Labor Department enforcement agency announces
four criminal convictions for March 2008

OLMS exceeds 900 indictments since 2001

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) today announced its criminal enforcement data for March 2008. During the month, OLMS obtained four convictions, five indictments and court orders of restitution totaling $279,202. The office's totals for fiscal year 2008 (which began on Oct. 1, 2007) now stand at 52 convictions and 64 indictments. The bulk of the cases involved the embezzlement of union funds.

"The indictments and convictions this month remind us that, unfortunately, a few who are entrusted to represent America's union members do not always act appropriately," said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Labor-Management Standards Don Todd. "We are proud of our efforts to stop wrongdoing against unions and their members. Our work has resulted in more than 900 indictments and the successful prosecution of more than 850 individuals since 2001."

OLMS is the federal law enforcement agency responsible for administering most provisions of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA). The agency's criminal enforcement program includes investigations of embezzlement from labor organizations, extortionate picketing, deprivation of union members' rights by force or violence, and fraud in union officer elections. The agency's civil program receives and publicly discloses unions' annual financial reports, conducts compliance audits of labor unions and seeks civil remedies for violations of officer election procedures. In certain cases, OLMS also works with other Labor Department agencies, including the Employee Benefits Security Administration and the Office of Inspector General, as well as other law enforcement agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

OLMS's public disclosure Web site at www.unionreports.gov contains union annual financial reports and additional reports required to be filed under the LMRDA as well as copies of collective bargaining agreements. Other information, including synopses of OLMS enforcement actions, is available at www.olms.dol.gov.

Editor's Notes: A listing of selected OLMS enforcement actions during March 2008 is below. An indictment is the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity. As in all criminal cases, each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Criminal charges and indictments noted in these materials are accusations only.

Selected Enforcement Actions in March 2008Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS)U.S. Department of Labor

Sentencings

Former Union Officer Sentenced for Embezzling Union Funds On March 4, 2008, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, Steve Dobyns, former secretary-treasurer of Glass Molders Plastics Local 325 in Tulsa, was sentenced to three years' probation and ordered to pay the balance of his restitution totaling $415 and a $500 fine. On Dec. 3, 2007, Dobyns pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $865. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Dallas District Office.

Former Union Treasurer Sentenced for Embezzling Union Funds On March 6, 2008, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Brad DuBray, former treasurer of Carpenters Local 113 in Middletown, Ohio, was sentenced to three years' probation, including six months of home confinement, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $12,048.11 and a special assessment of $100. On Nov. 14, 2007, DuBray pled guilty to embezzling union funds in the amount of $14,548.11.The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati District Office.

Former Union Officer Sentenced for Bank Robbery and Incidental Crimes On March 10, 2008, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Darren Johnson, former president of National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 78 in Detroit, was sentenced to three years of supervised release, including six months in a community corrections center, ordered to make restitution in the amount of $13,748.50 and ordered to attend a substance abuse program. On Dec. 3, 2007, Johnson pled guilty to one count of bank robbery and incidental crimes. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Detroit District Office.

Former Union Officer Imprisoned for Embezzling More Than $250,000 in Union Funds On March 18, 2008, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Joseph Capece, former business manager and financial secretary of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 163 in Wilkes Barre, Pa., was sentenced to six months' imprisonment and two years' probation (to include six months in home confinement), fined $4,000 and ordered to pay a special assessment fee of $100. On Sept. 11, 2007, Capece pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $256,000. Capece previously had made restitution of the full amount, plus any other costs associated with his crime. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia District Office.

Guilty Pleas

Former Local Union Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Forgery On March 7, 2008, in the County Court of Adams County, Colorado, William J. Kohut, former treasurer of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1755 in Westminster, Colo., pled guilty to a one-count felony charge of forgery. On May 23, 2007, Kohut was charged with theft (one count), identity theft (one count), unauthorized use of a financial transaction device (one count) and forgery (one count) in connection with his alleged conversion of union funds totaling $2,839.65. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Denver District Office.

Former Union Officer Charged with Embezzling More Than $11,000 in Union Funds On March 12, 2008, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, an information was filed charging William Day, former treasurer of Steelworkers Local 1-1462 in Cincinnati, with one count of embezzlement of union funds in the amount of $11,140.88. Subsequently, Day pled guilty to the offense. The charge and plea follow an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati District Office.

Union Officer Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Union Funds On March 14, 2008, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Deborah Anthony, former financial secretary of Steelworkers Local 1196 in Brackenridge, Pa., pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $1,245.45. The plea agreement requires Anthony to make restitution in the amount of $34,134.47. On Nov. 7, 2007, Anthony was charged with eight counts of embezzling union funds totaling $6,955.18 and one count of preparing false union records. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Pittsburgh District Office.

Former Union Official Pleads Guilty to Embezzling More Than $41,000 in Union Funds On March 19, 2008, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Norman K. Brown, former Bargaining Committee chairperson of United Auto Workers Local 2911 in Fort Wayne, Ind., pled guilty to embezzling approximately $41,478 in union funds. On March 7, 2008, an information was filed charging Brown with one count of embezzlement of union funds in the same amount. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Chicago District Office.

Former Union Officer Pleads Guilty to Embezzling More Than $12,000 in Union Funds On March 31, 2008, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Kurt E. Swanstrom, former financial secretary and treasurer of Paper, Allied Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union/United Steel Workers Local 5-1560 in Ashland, Ohio, pled guilty to embezzling union funds in the amount of $12,328, falsification of union records and filing a false financial report with the secretary of labor. On Jan. 8, 2008, Swanstrom was indicted on one count of embezzling union funds in the same amount, one count of falsification of union records and one count of filing a false labor organization report. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Cleveland District Office.

Criminal Charges and Indictments*

Former Union Officer Charged with Theft and Misapplication of Fiduciary Property On March 4, 2008, in the District Court of Val Verde County, Texas, Raul Castorena, former president of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 1749 in Del Rio, Texas, was indicted on one count of theft and one count of misapplication of fiduciary property in an amount greater than $1,500 but less than $20,000. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS New Orleans District Office.

Former Union Officials Indicted for Mail Fraud and Embezzlement of Union Funds On March 6, 2008, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Robert Walston and Thaddeus Bania, former president and comptroller, respectively, of Teamsters Local 743 in Chicago were indicted as part of a 14-count superseding criminal complaint alleging conspiracy, mail fraud, theft of honest services and embezzlement of union funds arising from multiple schemes involving the local's voided October 2004 regular election of officers and a rerun election that was held in December 2004. This indictment supersedes the indictment issued by the grand jury on Sept. 6, 2007, and includes three original defendants who were either officers, agents or employees of Local 743: Richard Lopez, who was an incumbent candidate for recording secretary in 2004 and who also briefly held the position of president after Walston; Cassandra Mosley, a former business agent who resigned in December 2006; and David Rodriguez, a former organizer who resigned in July 2007. The superseding information includes a forfeiture allegation of more than $2 million in salary, expenses and benefits. A superseding misdemeanor information also was filed against Mark Jones, a former business agent and director of organizing for the local, involving allegations of opening mail not directed to him relating to the voided mail-ballot election in October 2004. The indictments follow an investigation by the OLMS Chicago District Office, the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Former Union Official Charged with Embezzling More Than $75,000 in Union Funds On March 17, 2008, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, a criminal information was filed charging Zona Albritton, former manager of General Services for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, with one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $75,446. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office.

Former Union Officer Charged with Making a False Statement On March 19, 2008, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Karimah Bailey, former treasurer of AFGE Local 3197 in Seattle, was charged with making a false statement and representation of a material fact, knowing it to be false, on the local's annual financial report. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Seattle District Office.

Enforcement Actions and Civil Complaints

Union Enters into Stipulation and Order of Settlement with OLMS On March 10, 2008, the department entered into a stipulation and order of settlement with Communications Workers of America Local 1104 in New York, N.Y., concerning the challenged election of officers conducted on Oct. 21, 2005. The parties agreed that the Department of Labor will supervise the local's next regularly scheduled election for the offices of president, secretary-treasurer, executive vice president of the Education Services Division, executive vice president of the Operator Services Division and executive vice president of the Telecommunications Division. The election will be held in October 2008. An OLMS investigation revealed that the union's nomination petition requirement was not in accordance with the LMRDA. The order follows an investigation by the OLMS New York District Office.

OLMS to Supervise New Election of Officers On March 17, 2008, the department entered into a voluntary compliance agreement with United Auto Workers Local 551 in Chicago, Ill., concerning the challenged election of officers conducted on June 5 and 12, 2007. In that election, some retired members were not mailed a nomination or election notice. The local has agreed to conduct new nominations and a new election under OLMS supervision for the offices of president, vice president, recording secretary, financial secretary, three trustees, guide and sergeant-at-arms. The agreement follows an investigation by the OLMS Chicago District Office.

Court Rules in Favor of OLMS in State Education Union's Lawsuit The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted summary judgment in favor of the secretary of labor in Alabama Education Association v. Chao concerning the secretary's authority to expand the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA) coverage to intermediate-level public sector unions that are affiliated with national unions composed, in part, of private sector employees, regardless of whether the intermediate union itself is composed solely of public sector employees. The ruling was issued on March 31, 2008.

Union Enters into Voluntary Compliance Agreement with OLMS The department has entered into a voluntary compliance agreement with Communications Workers of America Local 1102 in Staten Island, N.Y., concerning the challenged election of officers conducted on Oct. 17, 2005. In that election, OLMS investigators found that the union denied eligible members the right to vote by failing to mail election notices and ballots. The parties agreed that the Department of Labor will supervise the local's next regularly scheduled election for vice president, which will be held in October 2008. The agreement follows an investigation by the OLMS New York District Office.

* Indictments and informations are the methods by which people are charged with criminal activity. As in all criminal cases, each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Criminal charges and indictments noted in these materials are accusations only.

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