Indictments

Office of Labor-Management Enforcement

The Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) conducts both civil and criminal investigations of alleged violations of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) and related laws.

These investigations by OLMS District Offices involve issues such as embezzlements of union funds, union officer elections, the filing of required reports by unions and others with OLMS, and the imposition of trusteeships over subordinate unions by a parent body. These investigations may result in legal enforcement actions.

Date	Description
May 5th, 2009	On May 5, 2009, in the United States District Court for the District of Eastern Pennsylvania, Peter Rhein, former Treasurer of American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 3845 (located in Philadelphia, Pa.), was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay additional restitution in the amount $28,145.76 and a special assessment of $1,400.00. Rhein had previously made a restitution payment in the amount $14,500.00. On February 3, 2009, Rhein pled guilty to a fourteen count indictment that included six counts of embezzlement of union funds totaling $43,600 and eight counts of false statements. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia District Office.
February 3rd, 2009	On February 3, 2009, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Peter Rhein, former Treasurer of American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 3845 (located in Philadelphia, Pa.), pled guilty to a fourteen count indictment that included six counts of embezzlement of union funds totaling $43,600 and eight counts of making a false statement. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia District Office.
January 30th, 2009	On January 30, 2009, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Grace Gaines, former Treasurer of American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 4973 (located in Philadelphia, Pa.), was sentenced to five years probation including six months home confinement with electronic monitoring, ordered to pay restitution in the amount $11,328.00 and a special assessment of $400.00.On October 24, 2008, Gaines pled guilty to a four count indictment for embezzlement of union funds in the same amount. The sentencing follows a joint investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia District Office and the US Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.
June 2nd, 2005	On June 2, 2005, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, an information was filed against Robin Klein, an outside accountant hired by the Washington Teachers' Union (WTU), charging her with two counts of failing to disclose material facts in a trial balance that she prepared for the WTU. The information alleges that the trial balance was then used by a union officer to file a false Form LM-2 report. Klein pled guilty to both counts on this date. The information supersedes an indictment against Klein filed on November 20, 2003. Moreover, the information and plea are part of an ongoing investigation of the WTU conducted by the OLMS Washington District Office, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office.
February 10th, 2004	On February 10, 2004, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, an information was filed against Cheryl Martin, the daughter of a former executive assistant of Washington Teacher's Union (WTU), charging her with conspiracy to launder more than $480,000 in union funds. The charges allege that Martin's husband, Michael Martin, and Errol Alderman set up a fictitious company that they and Cheryl Martin used to launder money back to an officer and an employee of the union. Michael and Cheryl Martin also used a portion of the laundered money for personal purchases. On the same date as the indictment, Cheryl Martin pled guilty to the charge following an ongoing investigation of the Washington Teachers' Union by the OLMS Washington District Office, the FBI, the IRS and the United States Attorney's Office.
November 20th, 2003	On November 20, 2003, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, an indictment was filed against the following individuals in connection with the theft of $4 million in union funds: James Baxter, former treasurer of the Washington Teachers' Union (WTU); Gwendolyn Hemphill, former assistant to the president of WTU; James Goosby, an accountant; and Robin Klein, an accountant. The indictment includes the following 27 counts: six counts of embezzlement, one count of conspiracy, five counts of wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud, two counts of false statements (for a false LM-2 report and a false IRS form 990), one count of money laundering conspiracy, five counts of money laundering, one count of making a false record, one count of fraud and false statements in violation of internal revenue laws, one count of first degree theft, and one count of aiding and abetting. The indictment is part of an ongoing investigation of the Washington Teachers' Union by the OLMS Washington District Office, the FBI, the IRS, and the United States Attorney's Office.