criminal 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.

Date	Description
July 2nd, 2003	On July 2, 2003, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, Joleen Coughlon, former office secretary of Laborers Local 177, was sentenced to four years probation and ordered to pay $6,445 in restitution. Coughlon had previously pled guilty on March 27, 2003, to embezzling union funds and making a false entry in union records. Coughlon was charged following an investigation by the OLMS St. Louis District Office.
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 6th, 2003	On March 6, 2003, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, Craig Michael, a member of Laborers Local 177 in Des Moines, was sentenced to five years probation, two months home confinement, and ordered to make restitution of $16,900 jointly and severally with former officers Fred Risius and Henry Jannenga. Michael pled guilty on November 11, 2002 to conspiring to embezzle union funds. The charges were brought following an investigation by the OLMS St. Louis District Office.
February 28th, 2003	On February 28, 2003, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, Fred Risius, former president of Laborers Local 177 in Des Moines, was sentenced to serve 15 months in prison, followed by three years supervised release, and ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution to Local 177. Risius pled guilty on July 25, 2002 to embezzling $100,060 in union funds. The charges were brought following an investigation by the OLMS St. Louis District Office.
February 28th, 2003	On February 28, 2003, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, Henry Jannenga, former vice-president of Laborers Local 177 in Des Moines, was sentenced to serve three months in prison, followed by three years supervised release including six months home confinement, and ordered to pay $22,500 in restitution to Local 177. Jannenga pled guilty on July 25, 2002 to embezzling $20,460 in union funds. These charges were brought following an investigation 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.
November 13th, 2002	On November 13, 2002, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, Norval Craig Michael, a member of Laborers Local 177, entered a guilty plea to an information charging him with conspiracy to embezzle. As detailed in the information, Michael joined with Business Manager Fred Risius and Vice-President Henry Jannenga in an embezzlement scheme wherein $16,900 in union checks payable to him were cashed and the proceeds split among the parties. These charges are the result of an investigation by the OLMS St. Louis District Office. Risius and Jannegna were charged and entered guilty pleas in related investigations on July 26, 2002.
July 25th, 2002	On July 25, 2002, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, Fred T. Risius, business manager of Laborers Local 177, pled guilty to a one-count information charging him with embezzling $100,060 in union funds. The charges were brought following an investigation by the OLMS St. Louis District Office.
July 25th, 2002	On July 25, 2002, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, Henry Jannenga, vice president and training fund coordinator of Laborers Local 177, pled guilty to a one-count information charging him with embezzling $20,460 in union funds. The charges were brought following an investigation by the OLMS St. Louis District Office.