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Union Facts

Utility Workers

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
September 7th, 2016On September 7, 2016, in the Court of Common Pleas of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Arthur W. Boedecker, Jr., former Vice President of Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) Local 270 (located in Brooklyn Heights, Ohio), was indicted for money laundering prohibitions, in violation of Ohio Revised Code 1315.55. On March 17, 2016, Boedecker was initially charged with one count of theft in the amount of $40,203. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati-Cleveland District Office.
March 17th, 2016On March 17, 2016, in the Court of Common Pleas of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Arthur W. Boedecker, Jr., former Vice President of Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) Local 270 (located in Brooklyn Heights, Ohio), was indicted under Ohio Revised Code (ORC) 2913.02(A)(3) for theft of more than $7,500, a felony in the fourth degree, for receiving unwarranted lost time payments from the union totaling $40,203. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati-Cleveland District Office.
March 20th, 2014On March 20, 2014, in the United States Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, John Vetterly, Jr., former President of Utility Workers Local 475 (located in Rochester, Pa.), pled guilty to embezzlement of union funds in the amount of $26,605, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). On October 8, 2013, Vetterly was indicted for embezzlement and conspiracy to embezzle union funds. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia-Pittsburgh District Office.
October 8th, 2013On October 8, 2013, in the United States Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, John Vetterly, Jr., former President of Utility Workers Local 475 (located in Pittsburgh, Pa.), was indicted for conspiracy to embezzle union funds, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 371 and 29 U.S.C. 501(c). Vetterly was indicted for embezzling union funds in the amount of $26,605. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Pittsburgh District Office.
October 8th, 2013On October 8, 2013, in the United States Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, John Baranski, former Secretary-Treasurer of Utility Workers Local 475 (located in Pittsburgh, Pa.), was indicted for conspiracy to embezzle union funds, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 371 and 29 U.S.C. 501(c). Baranski was indicted for embezzling union funds in the amount of $4,246. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Pittsburgh District Office.
April 12th, 2011On April 12, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Robert Cole, former Financial Secretary of Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) Local 124 (located in Irons, Mich.), was indicted on one count of embezzlement of union funds in the amount of $11,605.59, one count of filing a false report, and one count of making false entries in union records. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Detroit District Office.
November 13th, 2008On November 13, 2008, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Kenneth Wallace, former delegate of Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) Local 600 (located in Newport, Ky.), was indicted on two counts of embezzling union funds in the amount of $2,484.02 between April 30, 2005 and June 28, 2006. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati District Office.