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Service Employees

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
September 21st, 2022On September 21, 2022, in Onondaga County, New York, Willie Green, former President of Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Local 435 (located in Syracuse, N.Y.), was arrested and charged through a criminal complaint with one count of grand larceny in the second degree in the amount of $101,713, in violation of New York Penal Law 155.40. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Boston-Buffalo District Office and the New York State Police.
June 28th, 2022On June 28, 2022, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Attia Little, former Property Services Division Operations Manager for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) (located in Washington, D.C.), was charged in a criminal information with one count of embezzlement from a labor organization and one count of conspiracy to commit embezzlement from a labor organization for embezzling $503,600 from the union, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c) and 18 U.S.C. 371, respectively. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office and the Department of Labors Office of Inspector General.
April 14th, 2022On April 14, 2022, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Melba Norris, an associate of a former employee of the Service Employees International Union (located in Washington, D.C.), was charged in a criminal information with one count of embezzlement and one count of one count of conspiracy to embezzle union funds, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c) and 18 U.S.C. 371. The criminal information states that Norris was part of a conspiracy to embezzle $503,600 from the union by using the union credit card to pay $60,000 in fraudulent invoices to fraudulent companies and purchasing $204,000 in gift cards for personal use, among other things. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office and the Department of Labors Office of Inspector General.
July 15th, 2020On July 15, 2020, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, Robert Kurtycz, former Comptroller of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Chicago Midwest Regional Joint Board (located in Chicago, Ill.), was sentenced to one day of imprisonment (suspended) and three years of supervised release, which includes one year of home confinement. He was also ordered to pay $85,962 in restitution and a $200 assessment. On February 27, 2020, Kurtycz pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit commercial bribery, in violation of 720 ILCS 5/29A and thereafter, did perform and attempt to perform an act of promotion, management, and carry on, and facilitation of the promotion, management, and carrying on, of the unlawful activity, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1952(a)(3), all in violation of 18 U.S.C. 371, and one count of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343. The factual basis of the plea agreement noted that the wire fraud charge pertained to the electronic transfer of union funds for unauthorized expense reimbursements totaling $85,962. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Chicago District Office, the Department of Labors Office of Inspector General, and the Employee Benefits Security Administration.
February 27th, 2020On February 27, 2020, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, Robert Kurtycz, former comptroller of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Chicago Midwest Regional Joint Board (located in Chicago, Ill.), pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit commercial bribery, in violation of 720 ILCS 5/29A, and thereafter, did perform and attempt to perform an act of promotion, management, and carry on, and facilitation of the promotion, management, and carrying on, of the unlawful activity, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1952(a)(3), all in violation of 18 U.S.C. 371. Kurtycz also pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343. The factual basis of the plea agreement noted that the wire fraud charge pertained to the electronic transfer of union funds for unauthorized expense reimbursements totaling $85,962. The guilty plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Chicago District Office, the Department of Labors Office of Inspector General, and the Employee Benefits Security Administration.
May 7th, 2019On May 7, 2019, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, Robert Kurtycz, former Comptroller of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Chicago Midwest Regional Joint Board (located in Chicago, Ill.), was indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit commercial bribery, in violation of 720 ILCS 5/29A, and thereafter, did perform and attempt to perform an act of promotion, management, and carry on, and facilitation of the promotion, management, and carrying on, of the unlawful activity, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1952(a)(3), all in violation of 18 U.S.C. 371 (Conspiracy). Kurtycz was also indicted on six counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343. One count pertains to the electronic transfer of union funds for unauthorized expense reimbursements totaling $85,962. The remaining five counts of wire fraud pertain to electronic funds transfers for the purpose of executing the above conspiracy and wire fraud schemes. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS Chicago District Office, the Department of LaborÄôs Office of Inspector General, and the Employee Benefits Security Administration.
February 27th, 2013On February 27, 2013, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, Sofia Gonzalez, former bookkeeper for Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 95 (located in Seattle, Wash.), was charged with embezzling $40,087 in union funds, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c), and bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1344. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS Seattle District Office.
February 17th, 2010On February 17, 2010, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, an information was filed charging Pamela Williams, former travel/procurement coordinator of Service Employees Union Local 880 (located in Chicago, Ill.), with one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $6,080. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Chicago District Office.
August 27th, 2009On August 27, 2009, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Alejandro Stephens, former President of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 660 (located in Los Angeles, Calif.), was charged in an information with three counts of mail fraud and filing a false tax return. Stephens allegedly received $52,000 in consulting payments, issued to himself and three other individuals, from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor's Voter Improvement Program from February 2004 through April 2005, and filed a false 2004 income tax return by not reporting $35,000 in "other income" related to the payments. The charges follow a joint investigation by the OLMS Los Angeles District Office, Department of Labor's Office of the Inspector General, the FBI, and the IRS.
May 25th, 2007On May 25, 2007, in Superior Court for the District of Columbia, Quentin Womack, former Secretary-Treasurer of Service Employees International Union, Conference of Firemen and Oilers Local 1050, pled guilty to one count of second degree theft and was subsequently sentenced to 120 days suspended sentence, nine months of supervised probation and ordered to make restitution. On March 28, 2007, Womack was charged with one count of First Degree Theft for embezzling $3,326.80 from the union. The plea and sentencing follow an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office.
February 8th, 2007On February 8, 2007, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Debra M. Timko and Danny L. Iverson, former Presidents of Service Employees, Local 150, were charged in a 33-count superseding indictment with mail and wire fraud, embezzlement, and failure to maintain union records as part of a scheme to defraud the union of over $90,000. The indictment supersedes a March 21, 2006 indictment. Timko and Iverson allegedly schemed to defraud the union by receiving duplicate payments for expenses, receiving reimbursement for charges to a union credit card, and receiving reimbursement for meal expenses incurred on days in which they claimed and received a full day of per diem. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Milwaukee District Office.
December 11th, 2006On December 11, 2006, in the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania- Philadelphia Courts, Patricia Sweeney, former administrative assistant for Service Employees Local 36, was charged with theft by deception, theft by unlawful taking, receipt of stolen property, and five counts of forgery in the amount of $5,935 in union funds. The charges follow a joint investigation by the OLMS Philadelphia District Office and the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General.
March 21st, 2006On March 21, 2006, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Debra M. Timko and Danny L. Iverson, former Presidents of Service Employees, Local 150, were charged in a 33-count indictment with mail and wire fraud and failure to maintain union records as part of a scheme to defraud the union of over $90,000. The indictment details an alleged scheme where Iverson and Timko eliminated any audit or review of the expense vouchers they submitted for reimbursement and used their positions to authorize fraudulent payments to themselves for unused vacation time and personal or otherwise non-reimbursable expenses. The indictment also alleges that upon Iverson's resignation as president, Timko became president, and in exchange, authorized payments to Iverson totaling $50,000. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Milwaukee District Office.
December 16th, 2004On December 16, 2004, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Donald L. Rudd, former president of Local 50, Service Employees International Union, was arrested and charged with misappropriation of approximately $18,083 in union funds. The arrest and charge follow an investigation by the OLMS St. Louis District Office.
November 12th, 2003On November 12, 2003, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, an information was filed against Phyllis Harris, former secretary-treasurer of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1199, charging her with one count of making a false statement and a misrepresentation of material fact knowing it to be false on the Form LM-2. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS New York District Office.
May 13th, 2003On May 13, 2003, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Adela Tongson, former employee of Service Employees Local 250, was indicted on two counts of embezzling a total of $100,000 in union funds. The charges were brought following a joint investigation by the OLMS San Francisco District Office and the FBI.
July 11th, 2001On July 11, 2001, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, Nancy Groome, former secretary-treasurer of the Civil Service Employees Association, Local 316 of the State, County, and Municipal Employees, pled guilty to one count of embezzling $111,476.48 in union funds. The charges were brought following an investigation by the OLMS Buffalo District Office.