Federal Court Sentences Former Union Business Manager After U.S. Department of Labor Investigation of Embezzlement

ATLANTA, GA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS), the U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, has sentenced Tony Westly – a former business manager and financial secretary-treasurer for Plasterers and Cement Masons AFL-CIO, Local 148 – to 6 months in prison and 3 years of probation which includes 6 months of home confinement, for embezzlement.

Additionally, the court ordered Westly to pay restitution of $103,698.75 to the victims and a $100 special assessment.

OLMS opened its investigation after the Plasters and Cement Masons AFL-CIO’s national headquarters discovered a loss of funds at Local 148 in Atlanta. The OLMS investigation revealed that from January 2013 through June 2017, Westly had embezzled $103,698.75 in unauthorized checks, debit card purchases and payroll payments while he served as business manager and financial secretary of Local 148. 

“The U.S. Department of Labor will continue to protect unions and their members by seeking appropriate punishment of, and restitution from, anyone attempting to use their position for personal financial gain at the expense of union members,” said Office of Labor-Management Standards District Director Craig Neel in Nashville, Tennessee. “This sentencing and restitution order sends a clear message that there are consequences for individuals who breach the trust placed in them to be good stewards of union funds.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Samir Kaushal prosecuted the case. Plasterers and Cement Masons AFL-CIO, Local 148 represents about 650 members in eight southeastern states.

OLMS administers and enforces provisions of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA). The LMRDA promotes union democracy and financial integrity in private sector labor unions, and transparency for labor unions and their officials, employers and others. OLMS also administers provisions of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 and the Foreign Service Act of 1980, which extend comparable protections to federal sector labor unions.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.