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Union Facts

Office & Professional Employees

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
December 19th, 2013On December 19, 2013, in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, Elizabeth Branca, former business manager for Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 12 (located in Roseville, Minn.), pled guilty to one count of embezzlement of union funds in the amount of $16,546, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c), and for aiding and abetting another, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2. On December 18, 2013, Branca was charged in an information with embezzling union funds and aiding and abetting. The information also alleged forfeitures pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 981(a)(1)(c) and 28 U.S.C. 2461(c). The charges and plea follow an investigation by the OLMS Detroit-Milwaukee District Office.
December 18th, 2013On December 18, 2013, in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, Laurie Hoffman, former bookkeeper for Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 12 (located in Roseville, Minn.), pled guilty to one count of embezzlement of union funds in the amount of $8,909, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c), and for aiding and abetting another, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2. On December 17, 2013, Hoffman was charged in an information with embezzling union funds and aiding and abetting. The information also alleged forfeitures pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 981(a)(1)(c) and 28 U.S.C. 2461(c). The charges and plea follow an investigation by the OLMS Detroit-Milwaukee District Office.
October 8th, 2013On October 8, 2013, in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, Elizabeth Branca, former business manager for Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 12 (located in Roseville, Minn.), was indicted for embezzlement of union funds in the amount of $25,456, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c), and for aiding and abetting, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2. The indictment also alleges forfeitures pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 981(a)(1)(c) and 28 U.S.C. 2461(c). On October 25, 2013, Branca self-surrendered. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS Detroit-Milwaukee District Office.
October 8th, 2013On October 8, 2013, in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, Laurie Hoffman, former bookkeeper for Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 12 (located in Roseville, Minn.), was indicted for embezzlement of union funds in the amount of $25,456, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c), and for aiding and abetting, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2. The indictment also alleges forfeitures pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 981(a)(1)(c) and 28 U.S.C. 2461(c). On October 24, 2013, Hoffman was arrested. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS Detroit-Milwaukee District Office.
June 2nd, 2011On June 2, 2011, in the 54th District Court of Ingham County, Michigan, Joseph Darby, former Service Representative of Office & Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 459 (located in Lansing, Mich.), was charged in a criminal complaint with one count of embezzlement of $200 or more, but less than $1,000. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Detroit District Office.
October 23rd, 2006On October 23, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Sally Hollis, former bookkeeper for Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU), Local 112, pled guilty to one count of embezzling over $20,000 in union funds. On September 20, 2006, Hollis was indicted on the same charge. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia District Office.
June 24th, 2004On June 24, 2004, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, an information was filed against Veronica Keith (aka Parker), former bookkeeper of Office and Professional Employees Local 29, charging her with seven counts of making false entries in the union's records. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS San Francisco District Office.