The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards recent criminal enforcement data:
On June 8, 2009, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, Brian Brownlee, former Vice-President of American Postal Workers Union (APWU) 2nd District (located in Hot Springs, Ark.), pled guilty to embezzling union funds in the amount of $16,221.30. An OLMS investigation concluded that Brownlee falsified vouchers for travel, per diem, lodging and lost time. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Dallas District Office.
On June 3, 2009, in the 79th District Court of Mason County, Michigan, Kimberly Drake, former Treasurer of American Postal Workers Union (APWU) Local 3466 (located in Ludington, Mich.), pled guilty to one count of embezzlement of $200 or more but less than $1,000. Drake was immediately sentenced to two years probation, ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,050 and fined $160. Drake previously made restitution in the amount of $450. The plea and sentencing follow an investigation by the OLMS Detroit District Office.
On June 1, 2009, in Circuit Court for the City of Richmond, Va., Sylvia Grooms, Director of Industrial Relations for American Postal Workers Union (APWU) Local 199 (located in Richmond, Va.), was indicted on four counts of grand larceny associated with feloniously and unlawfully stealing the union’s property. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General.
On May 13, 2009, in the 79th District Court of Mason County, Michigan, Kimberly Drake, former Treasurer of American Postal Workers Union (APWU) Local 3466 (located in Ludington, Mich.), was charged with one count of forgery and one count of embezzlement of $1,000 or more but less than $20,000. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS Detroit District Office.
On May 6, 2009, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Mozelle E. Means-Swanson, former President of American Postal Workers Union (APWU) Local 7139 (located in Aurora, Ill.), was indicted on one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $4,900. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Chicago District Office.
On April 3, 2009, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, Richard M. Clark, former Secretary Treasurer of Letter Carriers Branch 468 (located in Bowling Green, Ky.), was charged with embezzling $18,680 in union funds and concealing and destroying union records. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati District Office
On March 30, 2009, in the United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio, Tina Curtis, former Secretary Treasurer for the APWU Local 232 (located in Columbus, Ohio), was sentenced to three years probation, 100 hours of community service and ordered to make restitution. On November 17, 2008, Curtis pled guilty to embezzling $18,283 in union funds. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Cleveland District Office
My name is Sylvia Grooms, before you believe everything you read and post comments, you should obtain all the facts. I was falsely accused by the OLMS and my local of embezzeling funds. I had to pay for a lawyer and was out of work for four months. I was completely exonerated and my file was ordered by the judge to be expunged. To think that my local would do something like this is devastating. I will remain faithful to the union because i truly believe in unions. I am back in my elected position and will remain dedicated to its cause. It was nothing more than union politics at its worse and I suffered and had to pay a lawyer $7, 500.00 thanks to my local.
Amen Judy20.. You hit it right on the head!! Thats exactly how I feel too and its exactly what is going on at our office (about 80 routes) The union only protects the lazy…. I work really hard and they add and add to me, but lazy butt can call in day after day and some how keep his job?? Im getting out of the union because i am tired of paying $80 a month and not getting anything at all…..I know they neg. my salary, but trust me when i say if they ever try to lower it to less than $20 I can make that anywhere…without dogs, lighting, bugs, and weather… oh and all the germs!!
Hey unio Gut says, the fecal matter APWU will porbably goorm morre thieves to put in embezzling situations. They only want to achieve the lifestyle Burass has grown accustomed to.
Okay, after reading all these posts, it seems membership has lost the perspective of the article. LOCAL unions across the nation are embezzeling your funds. That is fact. Do unions negotiate and enforce your contract? YES, that is fact. The national is doing the best they can with what they have. What about the locals? It is happening EVERYWHERE within these locals. some are just not getting caught yet. As for the previous post re: if we are not cowards, we should post our names if we discredit our locals, I laughed so hard I almost choked..You must be a local steward, you must know the harrassment that would come from that, not because there is shame or cowardly in admitting locals are crooks, but lets put ourselves out there and deal with more harrassment? Give me a break….its not relavent who we are, just know there is a major problem with locals and the article is evident of that!!!!
Way to go PHIL BMC #13. They should all die!
I wish the rest of those folks in union leadership get what’s coming for their thieving ways. It makes us all look bad. I for one have seen my union fall flat on it’s face. The only one’s who will run for leadership have one foot on a banana peel because they think salvation in the fact it’s their last best chance of survival becuase they don’t come to work and don’t work when they’re at work. It’s a pitiful sight and most of us have either quit or are anxiously awaiting our anniversary date to quit.
Hey PHL BMC! I was getting screwed by my Union President who fired our best steward so that he could hide for a thousand hours(in one Year) in the Union room. We got a bunch of Clerks who were pissed off enough to get involved & we all ran for Office & got elected. All I had done previously was basically go to our monthly meetings to get an monthly updates. Now we, the pissed off clerks run the Local & try to do the best & most fair job possible. So if you don’t like what is going on with your Local President or Local stewards, work on replacing them.
Hey, I would rather spend my time with my family or fishing, but I couldn’t stand having that Local President hiding in the Union room 20 hours a week making deals with Management, so that he could get perks for himself & f-ck the rest of us. So if your pissed off enough, stop talking about it & do something about it!
I agree that these thieves should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. But scabs have really big balls when they comment on this article. You scabs make comments on this site as if we dues paying brothers and sisters care about your opinions. Pay dues and then maybe we will. Get your grimey hands out of our pockets already and give us a break. you comment on this article to try and justify why you don’t pay dues. Scabs are lower than dogshit on the bottom of shoes. How much money have you stolen from your co-workers who do pay dues?
John the Manager is just a typical manager, not able to think on his own. Must get instructions from above. the M-39 the M41 and the Elm is all u need to know John the shithead Manager. Oh lord just think if u could think on your own PRICK. to answer your question if I were in your shoes I would cut my feet off.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ —
Knock Knock Knock, Knock Knock Knock,
Nat K. or Fred M. wake up and see you is at the door, and put that pillow and food away. Get out some paperwork also so it looks like you were working.
Door opens, Oh sorry were real busy right now, maybe we can see you tomorrow, thanks, bye.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
LOL, the truth is funnier that fiction
Your reps. purchase an air line ticket on their credit card and get reembursed for the cost, but keep the points for their own personnal use, rather then applying them towards the next union function…… is that acting in the best intrest of the membership?
correction referring to #33
correction referring to #33
correction referring to #33
After this comment to the person that wrote in about stewards sleeping in the union office. I will not comment again because personally I don’t read the publics billboards. However I was recommended to take a look at what is said for the Chief to do. Let me say this one thing as the Chief. All stewards are adults and will be held to a higher standard of judgement. For your information, mine and all others, guess what. No one gets away with the good they do nor the bad.
You keep living and you too will see.
After this comment to the person that wrote in about stewards sleeping in the union office. I will not comment again because personally I don’t read the publics billboards. However I was recommended to take a look at what is said for the Chief to do. Let me say this one thing as the Chief. All stewards are adults and will be held to a higher standard of judgement. For your information, mine and all others, guess what. No one gets away with the good they do nor the bad.
You keep living and you too will see.
After this comment to the person that wrote in about stewards sleeping in the union office. I will not comment again because personally I don’t read the publics billboards. However I was recommended to take a look at what is said for the Chief to do. Let me say this one thing as the Chief. All stewards are adults and will be held to a higher standard of judgement. For your information, mine and all others, guess what. No one gets away with the good they do nor the bad.
You keep living and you too will see.
Everyone is so up in arms about this miniscule issue, and meanwhile we have Obama and Congress selling the entire country (and all of us) out to China and anyone else who is loaning the country money. If all these fools got their heads out of their butts and started actually reading what is going on, they would see how the gov’ment is fixing to tax us to the hilt, for health care, for their mythical carbon credit garbage, taxing soda, cookies, soda pop, beer, smokes, they are increasing taxes on everything—STEALING—from us. And you are all belly-aching about some local podunk union embezzlement?
People like you guys are the reason the criminals are running amok in government. No oversight. The government knows the population for the most part, are stupid fools, and all they need to distract them are skin flicks, a dead drug-addicted trans-racial, and governor sex scandals. Sleight of hand tricks. And while you all gape at a dead freak’s funeral service or a two-bit union financial problem, they make off with TRILLIONS of dollars.
Before you criticize the stewards in San Bernardino know what your talking about. There is no one sleeping in the union office. If you know this put your real name on your comment.
go back a few years. the union at eastern montgomery county area local in pa(EMCAL) stole money and took vacations with his girlfriend (not his wife) on union funds – among many other extras.