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Union Facts

Novelty & Production Workers, Local 148 - Production Workers

embezzlement charges

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
May 1st, 2013On May 1, 2013, Stephen P. Arena, former President of Novelty and Production Workers Local 148 in Jersey City, New Jersey, was sentenced to six months in jail and six months home confinement for embezzlement of union funds. Arena has made full restitution of $193,000 to the union, but was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine to the court. In May 2012, Arena pled guilty to a one-count indictment charging him with embezzlement of labor union funds. Arena conspired with the union’s secretary-treasurer/recording secretary, David Caivano, to steal money from the union by taking unauthorized salary increases and bonuses. This investigation was conducted jointly with the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.
May 31st, 2012On May 31, 2012, in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, Stephen Arena, former President of Novelty Workers Local 148 (located in Jersey City, N.J.), pled guilty to a one-count indictment charging him with embezzlement in the amount of $193,000, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS New York District Office.
September 21st, 2010On September 21, 2010, in the United States District Court of New Jersey, Stephen P. Arena and David Caivano, President and Recording Secretary/Secretary-Treasurer, respectively, of Novelty and Production Workers Local 148 (located in Newark, N.J.), were indicted on 29 counts of conspiracy and embezzlement of approximately $375,000 in union funds. The charge follows an investigation by OLMS New York District Office and the Labor OIG.