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Stage & Picture Operators

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.

DateDescription
March 19th, 2014On March 19, 2014, in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island, John Brennan, former Secretary-Treasurer of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 23 (located in Providence, R.I.), was indicted on three counts of embezzlement of labor union funds in the amount of $33,546, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c); three counts of embezzlement from an employee benefit plan in the amount of $40,510, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 664; and seven counts of mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1341. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS Boston-Buffalo District Office, the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, and the Employee Benefits Security Administration.
February 16th, 2012On February 16, 2012, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, John McNamee, former President and Secretary-Treasurer of Stage & Picture Operators Local 829 (located in New York, N.Y.), was arrested following the filing of a criminal indictment for embezzling approximately $240,000 in union funds and filing false reports, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c) and 29 U.S.C. 439(b). From January 2004 through February 2011, McNamee is alleged to have used the union’s corporate credit cards to make personal charges. The arrest and charge follow an investigation by the OLMS New York District Office.
June 29th, 2010On June 29, 2010, in the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota, Paul Wyatt, former Financial Secretary-Treasurer of Stage and Picture Operators Local 220 (located in Sioux Falls, S.D.), pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $35,022.95. On May 4, 2010, Wyatt was indicted for embezzling union funds in the same amount. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Minneapolis Resident Investigator Office.
May 4th, 2010On May 4, 2010, in United States District Court for the District of South Dakota, Paul Wyatt, former President/Business Manager of Stage and Picture Operators (IATSE) Local 220 (located in Sioux Falls, S.D.), was indicted on one count of embezzlement of union funds in the approximate amount of $35,022.95. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Minneapolis Resident Investigator Office.
January 19th, 2007On January 19, 2007, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, James Russell, former Treasurer for Stage & Picture Operators Local 9 pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $54,776.65. On April 19, 2006, Russell was indicted on one count of embezzling union funds in the same amount. The conviction follows an investigation by the OLMS Buffalo District Office.
April 19th, 2006On April 19, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, James G. Russell, Jr., former Secretary-Treasurer for Stage and Picture Operators Local 9 was indicted on one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $54,776.65. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Buffalo District Office.
November 18th, 2005On November 18, 2005, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Donald Dixon, former Treasurer and bookkeeper for Stage and Picture Operators (IATSE) Local Union 623, pled guilty to embezzling union funds. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Dixon is ordered to make restitution to the union in the amount of $106,152 and to pay a special assessment of $100. Dixon was indicted on July 28, 2005. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Tampa Resident Investigator Office.
August 17th, 2005On August 17, 2005, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Kathy Jacobsen, former Secretary-Treasurer of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts AFL-CIO (IATSE) Local 69, was charged in a two-count indictment with one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $10,000 and one count of making false entries in union records. The indictment resulted from an investigation by the OLMS Nashville District Office.
December 12th, 2002On December 12, 2002, in the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota, Jo Ann Vaughn, former treasurer of Stage and Picture Operators Local 220, pled guilty to one count of embezzling approximately $33,000 (not exceeding $29,000 in union funds). Vaughn was indicted on October 22, 2002, on one count of embezzlement and one count of fraud for causing a false report to be made. The charges were brought following an investigation by the OLMS Minneapolis Resident Investigator Office.
October 22nd, 2002On October 22, 2002, in the United States District Court for South Dakota, Jo Ann Vaughn, former treasurer of Stage and Picture Operators Local 220, was indicted on one count of causing a false report in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001 and one count of embezzling approximately $33,000 in union funds. The charges were brought following an investigation by the OLMS Minneapolis Resident Investigator Office.
December 12th, 2001On December 12, 2001, in Winnebago County (Illinois) court, Todd Mosley and Laura Reilly, former business agent and recording secretary, respectively, of Stage & Picture Operators Local 217, were indicted for felony theft. Mosley is alleged to have taken approximately $3,126 in union funds and Reilly is alleged to have taken approximately $1,522. The charges were brought following an investigation by the OLMS Chicago District Office.