From PostalReporter.com Reader

Over a dozen postal union officers were the target of DOL/OLMS criminal enforcement actions in 2006.  These were the most serious cases. 

A name that will be recognizable to many is John McGovern, who ran for APWU National President in 1998, 2001 and 2004.  Delegates to the 2004 APWU National Convention voted to uphold his expulsion from the union.  As a result his name was removed from the ballot.

The lesson from these enforcement actions is for union officers to take their legal responsibilities seriously.  Mistakes can be costly.

2006 OLMS Criminal Enforcement Actions

On December 29, 2006 in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Charyle Emel, former President of American Postal Workers Union Local # 2013, was charged with one count of falsifying union financial records by willfully making or causing to be made a false loan agreement between herself and Local 2013. The agreement purportedly allowed Emel to borrow approximately $7000 of her USPS salary from the local and required her to repay the loan by the end of her term in office. The charge follows a joint investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia District Office and the United States Postal Service Inspector General’s Office. [Related documents: HTML | PDF]

On December 20, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Dennis P. Harper, former Branch President and advocate for National Postal Mail Handlers Local 304, was convicted of embezzling union funds in the amount of $2,543.10. On May 30, 2006, Harper was indicted on one count of embezzlement of union funds in the amount of $4,851.00. The conviction follows an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati District Office.

On December 18, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, David E. Hlavacek, Secretary Treasurer for American Postal Workers’ Union Local 7065 and the Missouri State Postal Workers’ Union, was charged with one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $6,383. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Kansas City Resident Investigator Office. [Related documents: HTML | PDF]

On November 21, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Preston Nelson, former Treasurer for Postal Mail Handlers Local 305, was sentenced to one day imprisonment to be followed by three years probation, 120 days of which must be served in home detention. Nelson was also ordered to perform 100 hours of community service and pay restitution to the union in the amount of $5,363.98. On August 16, 2006, Nelson pled guilty to embezzling union funds in the amount of $13,547.26. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office.

On November 6, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, an information was filed against Bernard Johnson, former President of National Postal Mail Handlers Union Local 297, charging him with one count of making false entries in union records. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Kansas City Resident Investigator Office. [Related documents: HTML | PDF]

On October 30, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, an information was filed against Allison Cole, former office secretary for the National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 30, charging her with one count of making false entries in union records. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Kansas City Resident Investigator Office. [Related documents: HTML | PDF]

On August 16, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Preston Nelson, former Treasurer of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union Local 305, pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $13,547.26. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office.

On July 27, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, a criminal information was filed against Preston Nelson, former Treasurer of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, Local 305, charging him with one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $13,547.26. The information follows an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office.

On May 30, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Dennis Harper, former Branch President of National Postal Mail Handlers Local 304, was charged with one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $4,851. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati District Office. [Related documents: HTML | PDF]

On March 15, 2006, in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, Edward Johnson, former Treasurer for the National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 704, was indicted on seven counts of embezzling union funds totaling $4,790 between May 2001 and May 2002. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Los Angeles District Office.

On February 27, 2006, in the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota, Robb Dutchuk, former Secretary-Treasurer for American Postal Workers Union Local 349, was sentenced to three years probation, which includes six months of home confinement with electronic monitoring and work release privileges. Dutchuk was also ordered to pay restitution of $18,812.18 to the local and a $125 assessment. The sentence follows an investigation by the Minneapolis Resident Investigator Office.

On February 21, 2006, in the United States District Court of the District of Wyoming, Richard Carlson, former Secretary-Treasurer for American Postal Workers Union, Local 769, was sentenced to three months time served and three years probation. He was ordered to pay restitution of $3,899.14 in addition to the $6,500 he has already repaid, plus a $100 special assessment. On December 9, 2005, Carlson pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Denver District Office.

On February 17, 2006, in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, John McGovern and Gary Weightman, former Secretary-Treasurer and President, respectively, for American Postal Workers Union, Local 190, were arrested and indicted on three counts each of conspiring to embezzle union funds totaling over $400,000. The indictment also charged that McGovern and Weightman obstructed investigations by the American Postal Workers International Union and the Department of Labor by destroying essential financial records. The arrests and indictments follow an investigation by the OLMS New York District Office and the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey.