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Boilermakers

criminal 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
August 17th, 2017On August 17, 2017, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, Pittsburgh Municipal Court, Russell Gloeckl, former maintenance employee for Boilermakers Local 154 (located in Pittsburgh, Pa.), was charged in a criminal complaint with one count of theft by unlawful taking and one count of receiving stolen property, in violation of 18 Pennsylvania Criminal Code 3921(a) and 3925(a), respectively. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia-Pittsburgh District Office and the Department of LaborÄôs Office of Inspector General.
April 24th, 2017On April 24, 2017, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Raymond C. Ventrone, former business manager for International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 154 (located in Pittsburgh, Pa.), was charged in a six-count information for one count of embezzling approximately $1,499,000 in union funds, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c), and five counts of income tax evasion, in violation of 26 U.S.C. 7201. The charges follow a joint investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia-Pittsburgh District Office, Department of LaborÄôs Office of Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
December 12th, 2016On December 12, 2016, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, Abingdon Division, William Dixon, former Secretary-Treasurer of International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 2014 (located in Lebanon, Va.), was charged in a criminal information with one count of embezzlement from a labor organization, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c), for embezzling $4,338 from the union. He then pled guilty to the charge. The charge and guilty plea follow an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office.
February 7th, 2014On February 7, 2014, in the United States District Court of the Northern District of Indiana, Karen Stone, former bookkeeper for Boilermakers Local Lodge 374 (located in Hammond, Ind.), was charged in an information with embezzlement of union funds, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). On the same date, Stone pled guilty to the embezzlement charge in the amount of $9,169. The information and plea follow an investigation by the OLMS Chicago District Office and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.
January 10th, 2014On January 10, 2014, in the Oklahoma County Court for District 7, Stephanie Johnson, former Secretary-Treasurer of Boilermakers Lodge 465D (located in Kansas City, Kans.), was charged in a one-count information with forgery and a warrant was issued for her arrest. The information follows an investigation by the OLMS Dallas-New Orleans District Office.
May 17th, 2011On May 17, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Christopher Burnett, President of Boilermakers Lodge 1814 (located in Bridge City, La.), was charged in a one count Bill of Information for making false entries in union records, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 439(c). The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS New Orleans District Office.
July 29th, 2009On July 29, 2009, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, a sealed indictment was opened charging Thomas Jon Witham, former Secretary Treasurer of International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 106-D (located in Mason City, Iowa) with one count of embezzlement of union funds in the amount of $52,037.19. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS St. Louis District Office.
January 5th, 2009On January 5, 2009, in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, Joseph Michael Johnson, former Secretary-Treasurer of Boilermakers Lodge 687 (located in Charleston Heights, S.C.), pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $102,519. On September 10, 2008, Johnson was charged with embezzling union funds in the same amount. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Atlanta District Office.
February 29th, 2008On February 29, 2008, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Frances Pagan, former President of Boilermakers Local Lodge 3M, pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $17,415. On February 26, 2008, an information was filed against Pagan charging him with embezzling union funds in the same amount. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Cleveland District Office.
February 6th, 2008On February 6, 2008, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, an information was filed against Francis Pagan, former President of Boilermakers Local Lodge 3M, charging him with embezzling $17,415 in union funds. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Cleveland District Office.
June 13th, 2007On June 13, 2007, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, Jeffrey Klope, former Financial Secretary of Boilermakers Lodge 8-S, pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds. On January 11, 2007, Klope was charged with embezzling union funds in the amount of $25,794. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS St. Louis District Office.
April 4th, 2007On April 4, 2007 in the District Court of Wyandotte County, Kansas, a warrant was issued charging Carl Oliver, a former employee of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, with two counts of theft and one count of forgery associated with the loss of $4,432.67 in union funds. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS Kansas City Resident Office and the Department of Labor's Office of the Inspector General.
February 7th, 2007On February 7, 2007, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Stephen A. Kostelac, former Secretary-Treasurer for Boilermakers Local 906, pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds. On November 29, 2006, Kostelac was charged in a 16-count indictment with embezzling $13,748.22 in union funds. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Pittsburgh District Office.
December 18th, 2006On December 18, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Jackie Uptegrove, former Secretary-Treasurer for Boilermakers Lodge M-146, was charged with one count of making false entries in union records in the amount of $16,628. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Kansas City Resident Investigator Office.
November 29th, 2006On November 29, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Stephen A. Kostelac, former Secretary-Treasurer for Boilermakers Local Lodge 906, was charged with 16 counts of embezzling union funds in the amount of $13,748.22. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS Pittsburgh District Office.
May 26th, 2006On May 26, 2006, in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas, Vernon Keith Reed, former Fund Administrator for the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, and Richard M. Taylor, owner of Deramus Street Properties, Brothers Mechanical Corporation, International Fabricators and Erectors Inc., and Woodley-Griggs Boiler Repair, were charged with nine counts of embezzlement from an employee benefit plan. The indictment alleges that Reed and Taylor conspired to embezzle approximately $800,000 from the Boilermakers Health and Welfare Fund. The charges follow a joint investigation by the OLMS St. Louis District Office, the Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General.
September 15th, 2005On September 15, 2005, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Linda Y. Brown, former Secretary-Treasurer of Boilermakers Local Lodge 57, pled guilty to a one-count information charging her with mail fraud for executing a scheme to defraud the union of approximately $24,336 of union funds. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office.
May 29th, 2003On May 29, 2003, in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Gene Malinowski, former business manager and secretary-treasurer of Boilermakers Local Lodge 1851, was indicted on one count of embezzlement and one count of aiding and abetting. The indictment was sealed until June 10, 2003 when Malinowski was arrested. The charges were brought following an investigation by the OLMS New Haven Resident Office.
October 29th, 2002On October 29, 2002, in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, Martha Davidson, the wife of Clyde Davidson, former secretary-treasurer of Boilermakers Lodge 31, was indicted. The 24-count indictment charges Mrs. Davidson with 12 counts of embezzling union funds and 12 counts of making, uttering and possessing a forged security belonging to Boilermakers Lodge 31. The combined 24 counts charge Mrs. Davidson with misappropriating $13,917.74 in union funds. Mrs. Davidson gained access to the lodge funds while performing bookkeeping duties for her husband. The charges were brought following an investigation by the OLMS Nashville District Office.
February 5th, 2002On February 5, 2002, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, David Dobry, former secretary-treasurer of Boilermakers Lodge 177, was indicted on one count of embezzling $61,510 in union funds, one count of filing a false report, and one count of destruction of union records. The charges were brought following an investigation by the OLMS Milwaukee District Office.