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Guilty Pleas

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.

Date	Description
March 10th, 2004	On March 10, 2004, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, John Rookard, a special assistant and project coordinator to Byron Boyd, president of the United Transportation Union, pled guilty to one count of labor racketeering conspiracy. Rookard and Boyd admitted to soliciting and collecting thousands of dollars in cash from attorneys nationwide. The scheme involved attorneys seeking designation by UTU to receive lucrative business associated with the personal injury claims of rail workers. Rookard will forfeit $45,000 to the Federal government from the proceeds of the racketeering activity. The guilty plea follows a joint investigation by the OLMS New Orleans District Office, the Department of Labor's Office of the Inspector General and the FBI.
July 20th, 2010	On July 20, 2010, in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, Edward Kobe, former General Chairman, United Transportation Union General Committee of Adjustment 325 (located in Duluth, Minn.), was sentenced to three months incarceration followed by two years supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution to the UTU GCA 325 in the amount of $16,200, restitution to the Railroad Retirement Board in the amount of $32,778.39, a fine of $30,000, and a $100 special assessment. On November 30, 2009, Kobe pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $16,200. The sentencing follows a joint investigation by the OLMS Minneapolis Resident Investigator Office and the Railroad Retirement Boards Office of the Inspector General.
November 30th, 2009	On November 30, 2009, in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, Edward Kobe, former General Chairman of United Transportation Union (UTU) General Committee of Adjustment 325 (located in Duluth, Minn.), pled guilty to embezzling union funds in the amount of $16,200. On November 12, 2009, Kobe was charged in an information with one count of embezzling union funds during a period between 2005 through 2006. The plea follows a joint investigation by the OLMS Minneapolis Resident Investigator Office and the office of the Inspector General, Railroad retirement Board.