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Union Facts

Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees

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
July 17th, 2018On July 17, 2018, in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Henry Clay Green, Sr., former Secretary-Treasurer of Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees - Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees (UNITE HERE) Local 26 (located in Medford, Mass.), was sentenced to six months in prison and one year of supervised release. Restitution and forfeiture will be determined at a hearing scheduled for September 26, 2018. On December 1, 2017, Green pleaded guilty to one count of embezzling union funds, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). The sentencing follows a joint investigation by the OLMS Boston-Buffalo District Office, the Department of LaborÄôs Office of Inspector General, and the Employee Benefits Security Administration.
December 1st, 2017On December 1, 2017, in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Henry Clay Green, Sr., former Financial Secretary-Treasurer of Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees - Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees (UNITE HERE) Local 26 (located in Medford, Mass.), pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement from a labor organization for embezzling $171,455 from the union, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c). The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Boston-Buffalo District Office, the Department of LaborÄôs Office of Inspector General, and the Employee Benefits Security Administration.
October 29th, 2009On October 29, 2009, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Donald Spell, former office employee for Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees (HERE) Local 12 (formerly located in Cincinnati, Ohio), pled guilty to embezzling union funds totaling $16,422. On October 9, 2009, Spell had been charged with embezzling funds in the same amount. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati District Office.
September 4th, 2003On September 4, 2003, in the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, Anthony Rutledge, former financial secretary and treasurer of Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Local 5, pled not guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government and one count of aiding and assisting in filing a false income tax return. He had been indicted on August 20, 2003, following a multiple agency investigation by the OLMS Honolulu Resident Office, Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor's Office of the Inspector General and Employment Benefits Security Administration, and several other federal agencies.
January 8th, 2003On January 8, 2003, in the Hamilton County (Ohio) Municipal Court, Michelle Back, former office secretary for Local 12 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union, pled guilty to theft of union funds and was sentenced to one year probation, a $100 fine, and court costs. Back was charged following an investigation by the OLMS Cincinnati District Office.
September 25th, 2002On September 25, 2002, in Linn County, Iowa, an outstanding warrant was executed with the arrest of Karl Roush, former business manager of Local 497 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union (HERE). At the arraignment hearing, he pled not guilty to a charge of felony theft of union funds. These charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the OLMS St. Louis District Office.