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Government Employees, Local 1206 - Department Of Veterans Affairs

embezzlement 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
September 18th, 2003On September 18, 2003, Clyde L. Spearman, former president of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 1206, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Oakland, California, on two counts of bank fraud. The indictment stated that between September 1998 and May 2001, Spearman embezzled approximately $15,000 in union funds by writing unauthorized checks against the union's bank account. Spearman served as president of the Martinez, California Local from early 1997 until March 2001, when he was suspended for financial misconduct. In December 2001, following an internal AFGE proceeding, Spearman was removed from office and barred from membership for 13 years. The current indictment follows a joint investigation by the OLMS San Francisco District Office and the Veterans Affairs Department's Inspector General's Office.