On October 17, Rebecca Hedman, an agent for three Chicago-area health care providers, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on one count of conspiracy to commit commercial bribery via cellphone in an unspecified sum. The charge follows a probe by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards, Office of Inspector General and Employee Benefits Security Administration. The action against Hedman follows the indictment in May of Robert Kurtycz, former comptroller of the Chicago chapters of Workers United and the Midwest Regional Joint Board, each an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, on one count of bribery conspiracy and six counts of wire fraud, one of which involved his receipt of $85,962 in union assets for fake reimbursements.… Read More ➡
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from National Legal & Policy Center https://nlpc.org/2019/12/09/chicago-area-seiu-benefits-consultant-indicted-for-bribery/
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On August 23, Esper Alexander, former president of Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America Local 1111, was sentenced in Wayne County (Michigan) District Court for the State of Michigan to six months of probation and three days of community service for larceny by conversion of funds from the Detroit union in a sum of at least $200 but less than $1,000. He had pleaded guilty in July. The actions follow an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… 
On May 7, Robert Kurtycz, former comptroller for the Service Employees International Union’s Chicago and Midwest Regional Joint Board, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on one count of conspiracy to commit commercial bribery plus six counts of wire fraud. One of the wire fraud charges involved the electronic transfer of funds from the Chicago-based labor organization for his receipt of unauthorized expense reimbursements totaling $85,962. The five others are related to this alleged offense. The indictments follow a joint investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards, Office of Inspector General, and Employee Benefits Security Administration.… 
A half-decade ago, the Obama administration, in apparent defiance of federal statutes, issued a rule authorizing states to deduct union dues from home care providers whose income is partly or fully Medicaid-derived. The experiment now has ended. Yesterday, May 2, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 
On January 22, Robert Clearwater, former president of National Association of Government Employees (NAGE) Local 14-8, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas to three years of supervised probation for embezzling $11,681 in funds from the Topeka union. He also was ordered to pay full restitution plus a special assessment of $700. Clearwater had pleaded guilty to embezzlement and falsifying union financial records last April after being charged in February. NAGE is an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. The actions follow an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… 
Kamala Harris, the junior U.S. senator from California, is a woman in a hurry. Elected in 2016, Harris today announced her candidacy for president in 2020. “I’m running for president of the United States, and I’m very excited about it,” she told ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Her track record, however, suggests she would be the kind of president who among other things would cut ethical corners on behalf of labor unions. Back in 2015, Harris, as California attorney general, helped a powerful affiliate of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) scotch the purchase of a half-dozen nonprofit health care facilities by a corporate buyer to protect union jobs. While a federal judge twice has dismissed allegations by the buyer, Prime Healthcare, that she abused her office, the case deserves another look.
On December 7, Keith Franzese, former president of Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America Local 275, was sentenced in Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, Md. to 10 years in prison (suspended), 90 days of home detention and five years of probation for various acts of theft from the Greenbelt-based union. He also was ordered to pay $67,624 in restitution. Franzese, who entered an Alford plea last June, had been indicted in November 2017 on 15 counts of various acts of theft, embezzlement and fraud totaling well over $200,000. The actions follow an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.…