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
February 5th, 2020	On February 5, 2020, in the Lucas County (Ohio) Common Pleas Court, Aphrodite L. Ueberroth, former office manager for Ironworkers Local 55 (located in Toledo, Ohio), was indicted for aggravated theft of more than $150,000 and less than $750,000, tampering with records (two counts), forgery (six counts), and receiving stolen property of more than $1,000 and less than $7,500, in violation of in violation of Ohio Revised Code (ORC) 2913.02(A)(3) and (B)(2); 2913.42(A)(1), (B)(1) and (B)(4); 2913.31(A)(2) and (C)(1)(a) and (b); and 2913.51(A) and (C), respectively. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati-Cleveland Office.
March 3rd, 2016	On March 3, 2016, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Juan Carlos Recinos, Business Manager and Secretary-Treasurer of Iron Workers Local 201 (located in Washington, D.C.), was indicted on seven counts of taking $18,700 in kickbacks from public works employees, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 874. The indictment alleges that Recinos falsely represented to several members that they needed to give him some of their back pay awards to pay for an attorney and then kept the money. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office and the Department of LaborÕs Office of Inspector General.
March 3rd, 2016	On March 3, 2016, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Juan Carlos Recinos, Business Manager and Secretary-Treasurer of Iron Workers Local 201 (located in Washington, D.C.), was indicted on seven counts of taking $18,700 in kickbacks from public works employees, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 874. The indictment alleges that Recinos falsely represented to several members that they needed to give him some of their back pay awards to pay for an attorney and then kept the money. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office and the Department of LaborÄôs Office of Inspector General.
March 19th, 2014	On March 19, 2014, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Western Division, Julie Skaggs, former office manager for International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers Local 372 (located in Cincinnati, Ohio), was charged in a one-count indictment for embezzling $51,491 in union funds, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati-Cleveland District Office.
April 26th, 2011	On April 26, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Jeannine Prince, former bookkeeper/office secretary for Iron Workers Local 3 (located in Pittsburgh, Pa.), was charged in a one-count indictment for embezzling $418,070.96 in union funds. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Pittsburgh District Office.
February 26th, 2009	On February 26, 2009, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Alex Margaritis, former Financial Secretary of International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers Local 594 (located in Bethlehem, Pa.), was sentenced to four years supervised probation, including two months of home confinement, and ordered to pay additional restitution in the amount $1,320.79 and a special assessment of $100. Margaritis had previously made a restitution payment in the amount $12,000. On September 23, 2008, Margaritis pled guilty to a two-count indictment for aiding and abetting in the embezzlement of union funds and embezzlement of union funds. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia District Office.
February 26th, 2009	On February 26, 2009, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Scott Gehringer, former President of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers Local 594 (located in Bethlehem, Pa.), was sentenced to three years supervised probation, including two months of home confinement, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment.Gehringer had previously made a restitution payment in the amount $547. On September 23, 2008, Gehringer pled guilty to a two-count indictment for aiding and abetting in the embezzlement of union funds and embezzlement of union funds. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia District Office.
April 3rd, 2008	On April 3, 2008, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Louella M. Zieman, former office-secretary of Ironworkers Local 709 (located in Port Wentworth, Ga.), was indicted on one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $51,684, and on one count of making false entries in the union’s financial records. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Atlanta District Office.
May 24th, 2005	On May 24, 2005, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, James Jordon, the former business manager of Local 161, Iron Workers, was indicted on two counts of embezzling union funds in the amount of $21,652.80 and one count of making a false entry in union records. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia District Office.
May 18th, 2005	On May 18, 2005, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Duane Raab, former business manager for Local 518, Iron Workers, was indicted on three counts of embezzling union funds. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS St. Louis District Office.
May 10th, 2005	On May 10, 2005, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Barbara Wituschek, the former office secretary for Local 161, Iron Workers (Riggers), was indicted on two counts of embezzling $5,745.41 in union funds. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia District Office.
April 28th, 2003	On April 28, 2003, the Oakland, California based law firm of Van Bourg, Weinberg, Roger & Rosenfeld, P.C. and the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia entered into an agreement by which criminal prosecution of the law firm for fraud, obstruction of justice, and related offenses would be deferred, and ultimately not pursued, in exchange for the law firm undertaking actions to remedy past misconduct by its founding partner, Victor Van Bourg, who is now deceased.The matter grows from the investigation of corruption within the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers ("Iron Workers Union"). The investigation was conducted by the OLMS Washington District Office with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, and the FBI. Among the remedial actions to be taken by the law firm pursuant to the deferral of prosecution agreement, the law firm will drop the name of Van Bourg from its title, pay restitution to the Iron Workers Union and an affiliated pension fund, reimburse the U.S. Attorney's Office for costs associated with the investigation, and undertake internal reforms and training to avoid any similar misconduct by its other lawyers. In addition, the law firm has agreed to send a letter to all of its labor union clients advising them of the misconduct of Van Bourg and advising them of the proper reporting requirements for Union expenditures for top Union officers in annual financial disclosure reports to the U.S. Department of Labor.
December 11th, 2002	On December 11, 2002, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, embezzlement and conspiracy charges were dismissed against LeRoy Worley, former general secretary of the Iron Workers. Federal prosecutors decided not to seek a new trial after a jury's failure to reach a verdict caused a mistrial to be declared on November 15, 2002. Worley and former Iron Workers President Jake West were the subjects of a superceding indictment handed down by a federal grand jury on August 7, 2002, that accused both men of funneling illegal payments to Worley, totaling more than $217,000, from the union pension plan for salary and expenses after Worley retired. The indictment also listed more than $37,000 for a pension that Worley was not entitled to receive. West pled guilty on October 25, 2002, to one count of embezzling from an employee pension benefit fund and one count of making a material false statement in exchange for the remaining charges against him being dropped after sentencing. The charges had been brought following a joint investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office, the FBI, and the Department of Labor's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration.
August 22nd, 2002	On August 22, 2002, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Francis J. Massey, a partner in the accounting firm Thomas Havey LLP, pled guilty to a one-count information charging him with aiding and abetting a conspiracy to make false statements and to defraud. The proffer of facts in the case details how Massey and other Havey accountants assisted the three top officers of the International Association of Iron Workers and others in falsifying Form LM-2 reports from 1992 to 1999 to hide in excess of $1.5 million in personal dining, drinking, and entertainment expenses. Disbursements that should have been reported by officers' and employees' names in Schedules 9 and 10 of Forms LM-2 were instead improperly concealed in categories on the report for "Office and Administrative Expenses" and "Educational and Publicity Expenses." These charges had been brought as part of an ongoing investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. To date, in addition to Massey, the investigation has led to the guilty pleas of six former officers and employees of the Iron Workers and another Havey accountant and the indictment of Jake West, former president, and LeRoy Worley, former general secretary. (For more information, see the criminal enforcement actions entries of August 7, 2002; June 4, 2002; June 3, 2002; December 12, 2001; August 29, 2001; and June 17, 2001.)
August 7th, 2002	On August 7, 2002, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the grand jury returned a three-count indictment against Jake West, general president emeritus of the Iron Workers International Union, and LeRoy E. Worley, former general secretary. The new indictment charges West and Worley with conspiracy, embezzlement from a labor union, aiding and abetting, and embezzlement from an employee pension benefit plan. West and Worley are charged with causing illegal payments to be made to Worley totaling over $217,000 from the union for salary and expenses after Worley retired, and totaling over $37,000 for a pension that Worley was not entitled to receive. The new indictment represents a second indictment of West who was previously charged in a 51-count indictment on December 12, 2001. The new indictment supercedes a previous one-count indictment of Worley on May 17, 2002. The charges were brought following an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office, the FBI, the Department of Labor's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.
June 4th, 2002	On June 4, 2002, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Alfred S. Garappolo, a partner in the accounting firm Thomas Havey LLP, pled guilty to a two-count information charging him with being an accessory after the fact to embezzlement from an employee welfare benefit plan in violation of 18 U.S.C. 3 and concealing and covering up a material fact in a matter within the jurisdiction of the Department of Labor in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001. He pled guilty to assisting Kerry Tresselt, the bookkeeper for the Iron Workers National Training Fund, in order to hinder or prevent her apprehension, trial and punishment for her embezzlement from the Training Fund. He also pled guilty to knowingly and willfully concealing and failing to disclose to OLMS investigators statements made at a September 1992 meeting by Victor Van Bourg, then general counsel of the Iron Workers International Union, to Jake West, then the international president. These statements were to the effect that the Havey Company should be replaced as the Iron Workers' accountants if Havey accountants did not assist the scheme to underreport and conceal the true nature and amount of the union's disbursements for its officers on the union's annual financial report, Form LM-2, filed with OLMS. The documents filed as part of the plea agreement charge that after the meeting, Havey accountants aided and assisted in the preparation of union reports that concealed the true amount of union disbursements for union officers Jake West, LeRoy Worley, and James Cole. This is part of an ongoing investigation that has resulted in the guilty pleas of six former officials and employees of the Iron Workers to a variety of embezzlement and conspiracy charges. Former President Jake West and former General Secretary LeRoy Worley, have been indicted and are separately awaiting trial. The charges were brought following a joint investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.
June 3rd, 2002	On June 3, 2002, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, a May 17, 2002, indictment was unsealed which charged LeRoy Worley, former general secretary of the Iron Workers International Union with embezzling an amount greater than $37,000 from an employee pension benefit plan in violation of 18 U.S.C. 664. The indictment charged that he resigned and retired when he was 58 years old and had worked between 17 and 18 years for the international union, but he was paid a full pension from the Iron Workers Staff Retirement Pension Fund as if he had retired at age 60 and as if he had worked 20 years for the international union. The indictment also charged that his annual salary preceding his retirement was approximately $152,000, yet he was paid a pension as if his annual salary preceding retirement had been $169,184. The charges were brought as the result of an investigation led by the OLMS Washington District Office and assisted by the FBI and the Department of Labor's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration.
December 12th, 2001	On December 12, 2001, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, a superceding indictment was returned against Jake West, general president emeritus of the Iron Workers International Union. The superceding indictment contained the same 49 counts that were in the original indictment which was unsealed on August 29, 2001, plus one count of conspiracy to embezzle, defraud, and file false reports and one count of obstruction of justice. The charges were brought following a joint investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.
August 29th, 2001	On August 29, 2001, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, a 49-count indictment against Jake West, general president emeritus of the Iron Workers International Union, was unsealed. The indictment charges him with 43 counts of embezzling a total of approximately $51,000 in union funds and 3 counts of concealing and falsifying a material fact and 3 counts of making false statements, both in connection with the Form LM-2 reports he filed in 1996, 1997, and 1998. The charges were brought following a joint investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.
August 14th, 2001	On August 14, 2001, in the Berks County (Pennsylvania) Court of Common Pleas, Kathleen L. Frost, former bookkeeper of Iron Workers Local 420, was indicted on one count of theft by unlawful taking and one count of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received in the amount of $7,653.46 in union funds. The charges were brought following an investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia District Office.
June 17th, 2001	On June 17, 2001, James E. Cole, General Secretary of the Iron Workers International Union, pled guilty in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of union funds embezzlement, one count of failing to disclose a material fact in a union financial report filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, and one count of making a false entry in union records. Mr. Cole had been charged in an 18-count indictment on January 3, 2001, with embezzlement of more than $10,000 in union funds, false reporting and mail fraud. The OLMS Washington District Office conducted the investigation with assistance from the FBI. Mr. Cole is the fourth official of the Iron Workers to plead guilty as a result of the investigation.