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Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers

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.

DateDescription
May 13th, 2014On May 13, 2014, in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, Mary Grace Gossett, former office assistant for Bakery Workers Local 26 (located in Denver, Colo.), was charged in a criminal information with three counts of embezzlement, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Denver-St. Louis District Office.
June 4th, 2011On June 4, 2011, in the State of Texas, 248th District Court, Harris County, Texas, Donald Ray Pierce, Secretary-Treasurer of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers (BCTGM) Local 163 (located in Houston, Tex.), was charged with one count of credit/debit card abuse of $683 in union funds. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Houston Resident Investigator Office.
August 26th, 2010On August 26, 2010, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Connie Ball, former Secretary-Treasurer of Bakery Workers Local 531 (located in London, Ky.) was charged with embezzling union funds in the amount of $7,554. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati District Office.
July 6th, 2010On July 6, 2010, in the United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana, Keith Hart, former Financial Secretary of Bakery Workers Local 315G (located in Mt. Vernon, Ind.), pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $13,904. On June 3, 2009, Hart was charged with embezzling union funds in the same amount. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati District Office.
May 30th, 2006On May 30, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Sharon Ann Burt, former bookkeeper/office secretary for Bakery Workers Local 611, was charged with one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $76,000. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Nashville District Office.