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United Food & Commercial Workers, Local 538

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
November 29th, 2005On November 29, 2005, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, Michael Rice, former President of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 538, was sentenced to six months imprisonment, six months home confinement, three years probation, and ordered to make full restitution, for embezzling union funds totaling $30,210.92. Rice entered a guilty plea on September 19, 2005. The conviction follows an investigation by the OLMS Milwaukee District Office.
September 19th, 2005On September 19, 2005, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, Michael Rice, former President of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 538, pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds totaling $30,210.92. An information was filed on September 1, 2005, charging Rice with embezzling union funds by submitting false claims for expenses incurred for fictitious meetings. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Milwaukee District Office.
September 1st, 2005On September 1, 2005, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, an information was filed against Michael Rice, former President of Local 538 of the United Food and Commercial Workers, charging him with one count of embezzling union funds totaling $30,210.92. The information states that Rice embezzled funds by submitting false claims for expenses incurred in attending meetings with the UFCW and AFL-CIO which never took place. The information follows an investigation by the OLMS Milwaukee District Office.