You asked for it - you got it. A monthly update on union corruption!

Organized socialist mafia groups Unions have long had a reputation for corruption, violence and organized crime links.  Is this just a reputation or a fact?  Well, we're happy to put that nasty rumor to rest and just give you the facts.  Is it the unions that are corrupt or do unions draw corrupt people to their ranks?  Kind of a chicken or the egg thing.  Here's your January, 2011 totals - direct from the Office of Labor-Management Standards:

On January 28, 2011, in the Licking County Ohio Court of Common Pleas, an indictment was filed charging Rodney Amspaugh, former President of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1853 (located in Newark, Ohio), with one count of theft in the amount of $2,227.39. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Cleveland District Office.

On January 27, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Southern Division, Max Messamore, former President of National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 2039 (located in Somerset, Ky.), was charged with embezzling union funds totaling $2,293.77. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati District Office.

On January 25, 2011, in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, James Q. Hunter, former Treasurer of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 1542 (located in Newark, Del.), was charged in a one-count information with making a false entry in union records, in violation of 29 U.S.C. Section 439(c). The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia District Office.

On January 21, 2011, in the United States District Court of the Northern District of Illinois, an information was filed charging Sylvester Knight, former Treasurer of Steelworkers Local 2154 (located in Chicago, Ill.), with making false entries in the union’s financial records in violation of 29 U.S.C. 439(c). The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Chicago District Office.

On January 20, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Patsy Fontenot, former International Representative for United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 790C (located in Lena, Miss.), pled guilty to a one-count indictment for embezzling union funds between November 2002 and March 2006 in the amount of $6,943.15. Sentencing is scheduled for April 8, 2011. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS New Orleans District Office.

On January 20, 2011, in the United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio, Rob Rybak, former Business Manager for Plumbers Local 55 (located in Cleveland, Ohio), was sentenced to 27 months incarceration followed by two years supervised release. He was also ordered to complete 100 hours of community service and pay a $500 special assessment. On October 26, 2010, Rybak pled guilty to embezzlement from a labor union, embezzlement from an employee benefit fund, conspiracy to obstruct justice, Hobbs Act conspiracy, and tampering with a witness. The sentencing follows a joint investigation by the OLMS Cleveland District Office, FBI, and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.

On January 14, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, Donna Cooper, former Business Manager for Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 888 (located in Tahlequah, Okla.), was sentenced to five months incarceration followed by 36 months of supervised release, with the first five months as home detention. Cooper was ordered to pay over $59,000 in restitution. On July 15, 2010, Cooper pled guilty to embezzling union funds in the amount of $69,322. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Dallas District Office.

On January 13, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, an information was filed charging April Franklin, former office secretary of Plumbers Local 333 (located in Lansing, Mich.) and former bookkeeper for Local 333's Joint Apprenticeship Training Fund, with one count of embezzlement of union funds in the amount of $40,886 and one count of theft from an employee benefit plan totaling $234,331.33. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS Detroit District Office, the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, and the Employee Benefits Security Administration.

On January 12, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Jesse Daniels, former Financial Secretary of Steelworkers Local 7-1011S (located in East Chicago, Ind.), was indicted on one count of embezzlement of union funds totaling $19,500. The indictment follows a joint investigation by the OLMS Chicago District Office and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.

On January 11, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, James Drury, former Secretary-Treasurer of Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 3121 (located in Hialeah, Fla.), pled guilty to a one-charge information for embezzling union funds between December 2005 and March 2009 in the amount of $306,757.53. Sentencing is scheduled for March 25, 2011. The plea follows a joint investigation by the OLMS Miami Resident Office (Atlanta District Office) and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.

On January 6, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, an information was filed against Heather Hill, former office secretary of Iron Workers Local 321 (located in Little Rock, Ark.), charging her with embezzling and willfully converting employee welfare benefit plan funds to her own use, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 664. Hill pled guilty to a loss of $59,653.12. The information and plea follow an investigation by the OLMS Dallas District Office and the Employee Benefits Security Administration.

On January 6, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Garold Lawson, Sr., former President of National Association of Government Employees (NAGE) Local 14-139 (located in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.), was charged with one count of embezzlement of union funds in an aggregate amount of more than $50,000, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). Lawson pled guilty to the charge. The charge and plea follow an investigation by the OLMS St. Louis District Office.

On January 5, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Wayne Mitchell, former President of Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 14170 (located in New York, N.Y.), the union representing mail room employees in the New York newspaper industry, was sentenced to two years in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release for violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). Mitchell was also ordered to pay restitution of $373,555. The sentencing brings to a conclusion an investigation in which the trustee, Larry DeAngelis, who was appointed to manage the union’s financial affairs in the aftermath of this embezzlement, was also convicted in a scheme to fraudulently obtain reimbursement for expenses that he, in fact, did not incur. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS New York District Office.

On January 4, 2011, in the United States District Court of South Carolina, Fleisha Jackson, former Treasurer of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 1909 (located on Ft. Jackson, S.C.), was indicted for embezzling funds within a special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States in the amount of $18,794.73. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Atlanta District Office.

On January 4, 2011, in the United States District Court for the District of Eastern Pennsylvania, Amar Ali, former Treasurer of Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWE) Sub-Lodge 695 (located in Baltimore, Md.), pled guilty to a one count information for failure to maintain union records, in violation of 29 U.S.C. Section 439(a)(b). The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia District Office.

Yep - these are the same unions that are given preferential treatment by our own Naked Emperor on a daily basis.  Aren't you proud?