Center for Union Facts logo

Union Facts

PACE, District Council 5

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.

DateDescription
March 31st, 2008On March 31, 2008 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Kurt E. Swanstrom, former Financial Secretary and Treasurer of PACE/USW Local 5-1560, pled guilty to embezzling union funds in the amount of $12,328, falsification of union records, and filing a false financial report with the Secretary. On January 8, 2008, Swanstrom was indicted on one count of embezzling union funds in the same amount, one count of falsification of union records, and one count of filing a false labor organization report. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Cleveland District Office.
October 27th, 2006On October 27, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Chiquita Durr, former Vice President of PACE Local 5-832, was convicted on one count of embezzling union funds and sentenced to six months home detention and three years probation. Durr was also ordered to make restitution in the amount of $1,744.39 and to pay court costs of $100. On July 3, 2006, Durr pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $2,244. The conviction and sentencing follow an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati District Office.
August 4th, 2006On August 4, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Peggy Sue Carnes, former Financial Secretary-Treasurer for PACE Local 5-621, was sentenced to two years probation, three months home confinement, and ordered to pay restitution to the local in the amount of $8,019.73. On May 12, 2006, Carnes pled guilty to embezzling union funds in the amount of $8,019.73 and making false entries in union records. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Cleveland District Office.
July 28th, 2006On July 28, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Mark A. Carroll, former Treasurer for PACE Local 5-962, was sentenced to three years probation, eight months home confinement with electronic monitoring, and ordered to pay restitution to the local in the amount of $3,555.05. On March 24, 2006, Carroll pled guilty to embezzling union funds in the amount of $7,380.45. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Cleveland District Office.
July 20th, 2006On July 20, 2006, and on July 17, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, James Bates and Jean Paul Grennay, former Vice President and President, respectively, of PACE Local 5-712, were each sentenced to two years probation. On May 25, 2006, Bates pled guilty to embezzling $4,412 in union funds. On April 11, 2006, Grennay pled guilty to embezzling $4,412 in union funds. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Cleveland District Office.
September 7th, 2005On September 7, 2005, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Jenny Noah, former Financial Secretary for PACE Local 5-1250, was sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of filing a false LM-3 report. Noah failed to disclose an unauthorized $500 disbursement to herself on the financial report. She was sentenced to 2 years probation, ordered to pay a $25 special assessment, and ordered to make full restitution. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Cleveland District Office.
June 15th, 2005On June 15, 2005, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Jenny Noah, the former treasurer of Local 5-1250, PACE, pled guilty to making a false statement of material facts. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Cleveland District Office.
February 17th, 2005On February 17, 2005, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Burnest Rose, former President of PACE Local 5-1929, was sentenced to 24 months probation, ordered to make restitution in the amount of $8,295, and required to pay an assessment of $275. He had pled guilty on November 19, 2004, to an 11-count information charging him with falsifying, concealing, withholding and destroying required union records. The information and conviction follow an investigation by the OLMS Nashville District Office.
December 1st, 2004On December 1, 2004, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Allan L. Spates, former president of Local 5-1250, Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers (PACE), was sentenced for embezzlement. The sentence consists of 27 months imprisonment; 3 years supervised probation; and submission to random drug testing. Spates was ordered to make full restitution in the amount of $20,655.21. On May 28, 2004, Spates pled guilty to embezzling union funds following an investigation by the OLMS Cleveland District Office.
July 14th, 2004On July 14, 2004, in the Ashtabula County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas, Sellers Judkins, former president of PACE Local 5-139, was sentenced to one year of supervised release for theft. He was ordered to pay a $250 fine and all costs of prosecution. On April 30, 2004, Judkins pled guilty to one count of theft of $4,217.23 in union funds. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Cleveland District Office.
May 28th, 2004On May 28, 2004, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Ohio, Allan Spates, former president of PACE Local 05-1250, pled guilty to three counts of embezzling $20,655.21 in union funds and one count of false statements. The guilty pleas follow an investigation by the OLMS Cleveland District Office.
April 28th, 2004On April 28, 2004, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, Rezin D. Hudkins, former financial secretary-treasurer of PACE Local 5-276, was sentenced to one year of probation for falsifying union records. He was ordered to make restitution in the amount of $2,274.38 and to pay a $25 special assessment. On January 9, 2004, Hudkins pled guilty to falsifying union records following an investigation by the OLMS Pittsburgh District Office.
October 23rd, 2003On October 23, 2003, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, James Cooper, former president of PACE Local 5-276, was sentenced to one day of probation for falsifying union records. He was ordered to make restitution in the amount of $5,000 and to pay a $25 special assessment. On October 9, 2003, Cooper pled guilty to falsifying union records following an investigation by the OLMS Pittsburgh District Office.
October 9th, 2003On October 9, 2003, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, James Cooper, former President of PACE Local 5-276, pled guilty to a one count information charging him with falsifying union records. In addition to other possible costs to be determined at sentencing, the defendant agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $5,000. The information was filed on September 16, 2003, following an investigation by the OLMS Pittsburgh District Office.
July 25th, 2003On July 25, 2003, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Steve Floyd, former secretary-treasurer of Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE) Local 05-152, was sentenced to three years probation. Conditions of probation included serving the first six months in home confinement and paying restitution in the amount of $27,882.00. On March 13, 2003, Floyd pled guilty to three counts of embezzling union funds following an investigation by the OLMS St. Louis District Office.
May 7th, 2003On May 7, 2003, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Steve Floyd, former secretary-treasurer of Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE) Local 05-152, pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds. Floyd, who was indicted on March 13, 2003, admitted to embezzling approximately $27,000 in union funds by writing checks to both himself and others that were not authorized and were for his personal benefit. The charges were brought following an investigation by the OLMS St. Louis District Office.
December 2nd, 2002On December 2, 2002, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Barbara A. Ryan, former financial secretary of PACE Local 5-626, was sentenced to fifteen months in prison followed by two years of supervised probation. Ryan pled guilty on August 5, 2002, to embezzling $117,734.18 from her union and entering into a scheme to defraud her employer, BP Chemicals, of $33,578.59 for work she did not perform. The charges were brought following an investigation by the OLMS Cleveland District Office and the FBI.
September 23rd, 2002On September 23, 2002, in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Mike Bruce, former secretary-treasurer of the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical & Energy Workers (PACE), Local 5-80, was sentenced to one month of home detention followed by three years of supervised probation and ordered to pay $6,923 in restitution to the union. He previously pled guilty to making false entries in required union records to conceal his embezzlement of $6,923 in union funds after he was charged in a two-count indictment following an investigation by the OLMS Nashville District Office.