Indictments

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
May 9th, 2003	On May 9, 2003, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, Clyde Howard Starkey, former member of Laborers Local 177, was sentenced to six months imprisonment, three years probation, and ordered to make restitution of $28,905. Starkey was indicted on November 20, 2002 and on January 16, 2003, he pled guilty to conspiring to embezzle union funds. Specifically, Starkey received and cashed $28,905 in union checks (to which he had no legitimate claim) and returned a portion of the proceeds to former Local 177 Business Manager Fred Risius. Risius is currently serving fifteen months in the penitentiary for embezzling in excess of $100,000 from the local. The charges were brought following an investigation by the OLMS St. Louis District Office.
March 27th, 2003	On March 27, 2003, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, Joleen Coughlon, former office secretary of Laborers Local 177, pled guilty to embezzling union funds and making a false entry in a union record. She had been indicted on November 20, 2002 following an investigation by the OLMS St. Louis District Office. She is the fifth defendant to have pled guilty to the embezzlement of funds from Local 177.
January 14th, 2003	On January 14, 2003, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, Clyde Starkey, former member of Laborers Local 177 in Des Moines, pled guilty to conspiracy to embezzle union funds. Starkey was indicted on November 19, 2002, for cashing $28,905 in union checks payable to the fictitious Starkey Construction Company and then splitting the proceeds with the Local 177 business manager. The investigation was conducted by the OLMS St. Louis District Office.
November 20th, 2002	On November 20, 2002, in United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, Joleen Coughlon, former secretary, and Clyde Starkey, former member, were indicted for their roles in a conspiracy to embezzle the funds of Laborers Local 177 in Des Moines, Iowa. The indictment details separate activities whereby the two participated in embezzlement schemes with the previously indicted local president, Fred Risius. Starkey is charged with receiving and cashing $28,905 in union checks to which he had no legitimate claim and returning a portion of the proceeds to Risius. The indictment alleges that Coughlon accepted gifts paid for by the union by issuing fictitious payee checks to Risius from the local strike fund. Coughlon is also charged with the unauthorized receipt of strike fund checks and the falsification of related records. The charges were brought following an investigation by the OLMS St. Louis District Office.