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Union Facts

Musicians

Guilty Pleas

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.

DateDescription
July 27th, 2012On July 27, 2012, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, Juan P. Rios, former Secretary-Treasurer of American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 23 (located in San Antonio, Tex.), was sentenced to five years of probation and was ordered to pay $15,407.77 in restitution and a $100 special assessment. On October 27, 2011, Rios pled guilty to one count of embezzlement, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS New Orleans District Office.
February 28th, 2012On February 28, 2012, in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Mary Lynn Otten, former Secretary-Treasurer of Musicians Local 26 (located in Peoria, Ill.), was sentenced to two years of probation and was ordered to pay $5,032.50 in restitution and a $25 special assessment. On November 15, 2011, Otten pled guilty to filing a false report, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 439(b). The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Chicago District Office.
November 15th, 2011On November 15, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois (Peoria), Mary Lynn Otten, former Secretary-Treasurer of Musicians Local 26 (located in Peoria, Ill.), pled guilty to filing a false LM report, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 439(b). On November 10, 2011, a one-count information was filed charging Otten with filing a false LM-3 report for fiscal year 2008. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Chicago District Office.
October 27th, 2011On October 27, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, Juan P. Rios, former Secretary-Treasurer of American Federation of Musicians Local 23 (located in San Antonio, Tex.), pled guilty to one charge of embezzlement of union funds in the amount of $15,407, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Houston Resident Investigator Office.
September 14th, 2010On September 14, 2010, in the Hamilton County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas, Tiffany Freeman was sentenced to two years community control and was ordered to make restitution in the amount of $2,260. On August 6, 2010, Freeman pled guilty to three counts of forging checks belonging to Musicians Local 1 (located in Cincinnati, Ohio). The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati District Office.
August 6th, 2010On August 6, 2010, in the Hamilton County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas, Tiffany Freeman pled guilty to three counts of forgery on checks belonging to Musicians Local 1 (located in Cincinnati, Ohio). On December 2, 2009, Freeman was charged with five counts of forgery on checks totaling $2,260. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati District Office.
June 24th, 2010On June 24, 2010, in Hamilton County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas, LaDonna Turner was sentenced to three years probation, and was ordered to undergo random drug screening and make restitution in the amount of $15,800. On June 3, 2010, Turner pled guilty to three counts of forgery concerning checks belonging to Musicians Local 1 (located in Cincinnati, Ohio). The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati District Office.
June 3rd, 2010On June 3, 2010, in the Hamilton County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas, Ladonna Turner pled guilty in to three counts of forgery associated with checks belonging to Musicians Local 1 (located in Cincinnati, Ohio). The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati District Office.
April 23rd, 2010On April 23, 2010, in the Hamilton County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas, Britton Russia pled guilty to six counts of forging union checks belonging to Musicians Local 1 (located in Cincinnati, Ohio). Russia was sentenced to one year of incarceration. The plea and sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati District Office.
November 28th, 2006On November 28, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York, Mark Jones, former President of Musicians Local 92 and former Secretary-Treasurer of the New York State Conference of Musicians, was sentenced to two years probation and six months community service. On July 26, 2006, Jones pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $40,738.17 from Local 92 and $34,672.00 from the State Conference. Prior to sentencing, Jones made full restitution to the unions. During the period of the investigation, Jones also served as a board member of the Musicians International Union and for one year as President of the Buffalo AFL-CIO Labor Council. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Buffalo District Office.
July 26th, 2006On July 26, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York, Mark R. Jones, former President and Secretary-Treasurer of the American Federation of Musicians, Local 92, and Secretary-Treasurer of the New York State Conference of Musicians, pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $40,738.17 from Local 92 and $34,672.00 from the State Conference. Jones also served from 2001 through March 2006 as an executive board member of the American Federation of Musicians International Union and in 2005 as the President of the Buffalo AFL-CIO Labor Council. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Buffalo District Office.
August 6th, 2004On August 6, 2004, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, C. Michael Vencill, former secretary-treasurer of Musicians Local 101-473, was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $11,488 and court fees of $150. On March 26, 2004, Vencill pled guilty to one felony count of embezzling union funds and two misdemeanor counts of submitting false reports to the Department of Labor. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati District Office.
December 9th, 2002On December 9, 2002, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, Deborah S. Bailey, former office manager of American Federation of Musicians Local 136, was sentenced to five-years probation, ordered to pay a special assessment of $100, and ordered to pay full restitution in the amount of $15,601.80 (jointly with former Local 136 President and Business Manager Thomas C. Bailey). Deborah Bailey pled guilty to embezzlement on September 6, 2002, following an investigation by the OLMS Pittsburgh District Office.
December 9th, 2002On December 9, 2002, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, Thomas C. Bailey, former president and business manager of American Federation of Musicians Local 136, was sentenced to 15-months imprisonment for embezzlement and 12-months imprisonment for falsifying the union's annual financial report (the sentences to run concurrently) and three-years supervised release for embezzlement to run concurrently with one-year supervised release for falsifying the union's annual financial report. Thomas Bailey was ordered to pay full restitution of $15,601.80 (jointly with Deborah S. Bailey), a $4,000 fine, and a $125 special assessment. Bailey was found guilty by a jury on September 11, 2002, following an investigation by the OLMS Pittsburgh District Office.
November 19th, 2002On November 19, 2002, in the United States Court for the Western District of Texas, Pedro Ojeda, former secretary-treasurer of Musicians Local 23 in San Antonio, was sentenced to five years probation including six months home confinement and 100 hours of community service. Ojeda was also ordered to pay remaining restitution in the amount of $250. Ojeda pled guilty to one count of embezzlement on September 19, 2002 following an investigation by the OLMS New Orleans District Office.
September 19th, 2002On September 19, 2002, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, Pedro Ojeda, former secretary-treasurer of Musicians Local 23, pled guilty to one count of embezzling an unspecified amount of union funds. He had been charged in a two-count indictment on July 3, 2002, following an investigation by the OLMS New Orleans District Office.
September 11th, 2002On September 11, 2002, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, Thomas C. Bailey, former president and business manager of the American Federation of Musicians, Local 136, was found guilty by a federal jury of both counts in a two count indictment of embezzling $15,601.80 of union funds and filing a false annual financial report, following an investigation by the OLMS Pittsburgh District Office.
September 6th, 2002On September 6, 2002, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, Deborah S. Bailey, former office manager of the American Federation of Musicians Local 136, pled guilty to embezzling $15,601.80 in union funds, following an investigation by the OLMS Pittsburgh District Office.
April 23rd, 2002On April 23, 2002, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Steven Call, former president of Musicians Local 150, was sentenced to five years probation, ordered to perform 250 hours of community service, and ordered to make restitution of $18,536. On November 29, 2001, he had pled guilty to embezzling union funds following an investigation by the OLMS Springfield, Missouri Resident Investigative Office.
November 29th, 2001On November 29, 2001, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Steven Call, former president of Musicians Local 150, pled guilty to an information charging him with embezzling $18,536 in union funds. The charges were brought following an investigation by the OLMS St. Louis District Office.
February 5th, 2001On February 5, 2001, in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Barry James, former president of Musicians Local 389, pled guilty to a one-count information for filing a false labor organization annual financial report. The charges were brought following an investigation by the OLMS Atlanta District Office.