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.

Date	Description
June 4th, 2019	On June 4, 2019, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Jonathan Ortino, former President of National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) Chapter 165 (located in San Francisco, Calif.), was charged in a six-count superseding indictment. The superseding indictment added three counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343. Each of the three counts pertain to Ortino making an unauthorized electronic fund transfer from the unionÄôs account to his personal account, totaling $4,500. On March 26, 2019, Ortino was initially charged in a three-count indictment with making false entries with respect to the filing of the union's LM-3 Report for fiscal years 2014, 2015, and 2016, all in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001(a)(2) & 2 (False Statements to a Government Agency). The superseding indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS San Francisco-Seattle District Office.
March 26th, 2019	On March 26, 2019, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Jonathon Ortino, former President of National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) Chapter 165 (located in San Francisco, Calif.), was charged in a three-count indictment with making false entries with respect to the filing of the union's LM-3 Report for fiscal years 2014, 2015, and 2016, all in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001(a)(2) & 2 (False Statements to a Government Agency). The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS San Francisco-Seattle District Office.
April 24th, 2013	On April 24, 2013, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, Harold Washington, former President of National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) Chapter 105 (located in Chula Vista, Calif.), was charged with one count of violating 18 U.S.C. 1001 for making false statements on an LM-3 Report by failing to report allowances and disbursements he received from Chapter 105. Washington pled guilty to the count on the same date. The guilty plea follows a joint investigation by the OLMS Los Angeles District Office and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Professional Responsibility.
January 9th, 2013	On January 9, 2013, in the United States District Court for the District of Utah, Northern Division, Shelia S. Brown, former Treasurer of National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) Chapter 67 (located in Ogden, Utah), was charged in a two-count indictment for embezzling $20,705.21 in union funds, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 666(a)(1)(A), theft from a program receiving federal funds. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Denver District Office.
September 20th, 2011	On September 20, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Rebecca Mercer, former Treasurer of National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) Chapter 284 (located in Atlanta, Ga.), was charged with 10 counts of wire fraud in the amount of $4,403.11, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Nashville District Office.
June 23rd, 2011	On June 23, 2011, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, an information was filed against Rebecca Mercer, former Treasurer of National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) Chapter 284 (located in Chamblee, Ga.), charging her with one count of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343. The information follows an investigation by the OLMS Birmingham Resident Investigator Office.
November 22nd, 2010	On November 22, 2010, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, a criminal complaint was filed charging Tamara Schultz, former Benefits Coordinator for the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) (located in Washington, D.C.), with one count of first degree theft for wrongfully obtaining and using property of a value of $1,000 or more from NTEU. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office.
December 3rd, 2007	On December 3, 2007, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Darren Johnson, former President of National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 78, pled guilty to one count of bank robbery and incidental crimes. On November 16, 2007, Johnson was charged with stealing union funds in the amount of $4,756.75 that were within the care, custody, control, management, or possession of Comerica Bank. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Detroit District Office.
November 16th, 2007	On November 16, 2007, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, an information was filed against Darren Johnson, former President of National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 78, charging him with one count of bank robbery and incidental crimes in the amount of $4,756.75. Johnson is alleged to have intended to steal union funds within the care, custody, control, management, or possession of Comerica Bank. The information follows an investigation by the OLMS Detroit District Office.
September 10th, 2002	On September 10, 2002, in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, Gregory B. Floto, former president of the National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 116, was sentenced to six months of home detention, three years of probation, fined $2,000, ordered to pay a $100 special assessment, and ordered to pay $7,714.68 in remaining restitution to the union (or bonding company). On March 15, 2002, Floto pled guilty to making a false statement to a federal agent to conceal his embezzlement of $15,714.21 in union funds after being charged in a seven-count indictment. This case was prosecuted by attorneys from the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, following a joint investigation by the OLMS Los Angeles District Office and U.S. Customs Internal Affairs Tucson office.
March 15th, 2002	On March 15, 2002, in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, Gregory B. Floto, former president of National Treasury Employees Chapter 116, pled guilty to one count of making false statements in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001. He had earlier been charged with misappropriation of union funds following a joint investigation by the OLMS Los Angeles District Office and U.S. Customs Internal Affairs.
January 17th, 2001	On January 17, 2001, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Gregory Floto, president of Treasury Employees Chapter 116 in Tucson, Arizona, was indicted on seven counts of mail fraud/deprivation of honest services (three counts), making false statements (three counts), and obstruction of justice (one count). The charges were brought following a joint investigation by the OLMS Los Angeles District Office and the U.S. Customs Service Office of Internal Affairs.