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Former
International
UAW
President
Dennis
Williams
sentenced
to
prison
for
embezzling
union
funds
DETROIT
- Dennis
Williams,
the
former
President
of the
international
United
Auto
Workers
union,
was
sentenced
to
twenty-one
months
in
prison
today
for
conspiring
with
other
UAW
officials
to
embezzle
UAW
funds
announced
Acting
U.S.
Attorney
Saima S.
Mohsin.
Joining
in the
announcement
were
Irene
Lindow,
Special
Agent in
Charge
of the
U.S.
Department
of Labor
– Office
of
Inspector
General,
Timothy
Waters,
Special
Agent in
Charge
of the
Detroit,
Michigan
office
of the
Federal
Bureau
of
Investigation,
Kelly
Lewis,
Acting
Special
Agent in
Charge
of the
Detroit,
Michigan
office
of the
Internal
Revenue
Service
–
Criminal
Investigations,
and
Thomas
Murray,
District
Director,
U.S.
Department
of Labor
– Office
of
Labor-Management
Standards.
Dennis
Williams,
67, of
Corona,
California,
was
sentenced
to
twenty-one
months
in
prison,
$132,000
in
restitution,
one year
of
supervised
release,
and a
$10,000
fine by
United
States
District
Judge
Paul
Borman
based on
his
conviction
for
conspiring
with
former
UAW
President
Gary
Jones
and
other
senior
UAW
officials
to
embezzle
UAW dues
money
between
2010 and
September
2019.
Between
June
2014 and
June
2018,
Williams
served
as the
President
of the
International
Union,
United
Automobile,
Aerospace,
and
Agricultural
Implement
Workers
of
America
(“UAW”).
The UAW
represents
over
400,000
active
members
and over
580,000
retired
members
in more
than 600
local
unions
across
the
United
States.
Prior to
serving
as UAW
President,
Williams
was the
Secretary-Treasurer
of the
UAW from
June
2010
through
June
2014.
Williams
was
convicted
of
conspiring
with at
least
six
other
senior
UAW
officials
in a
multi-year
conspiracy
to
embezzle
money
from the
UAW for
the
personal
benefit
of
himself
and
other
senior
UAW
officials.
UAW
officials
concealed
hundreds
of
thousands
of
dollars
in
personal
expenditures
in the
cost of
UAW
conferences
held in
Palm
Springs,
California,
Coronado,
California,
and
Missouri.
Between
2010 and
2018,
former
UAW
President
and
co-defendant
Gary
Jones
and
other
UAW
officials
submitted
fraudulent
expense
forms
seeking
reimbursement
from the
UAW’s
Detroit
headquarters
for
expenditures
supposedly
incurred
in
connection
with UAW
leadership
and
training
conferences.
In
truth,
however,
Williams
and his
co-conspirators
used the
conferences
to
conceal
the
hundreds
of
thousands
of
dollars
in UAW
funds
spent on
lavish
entertainment
and
personal
spending
for the
conspirators.
As part
of his
conviction,
Williams
admitted
the he
and
other
senior
UAW
officials
used UAW
money to
pay for
personal
expenses,
including
multi-month
long
stays at
private
villas
in Palm
Springs,
cigars,
golfing
apparel,
green
fees at
golf
courses,
and
high-end
liquor
and
meals.
During
the
course
of the
conspiracy,
while
Williams
was UAW
President,
co-conspirators
Gary
Jones,
Vance
Pearson,
and
others
provided
themselves
and
Williams
with
thousands
of
dollars
in such
personal
items.
As part
of the
court’s
sentence,
Williams
was
ordered
to
forfeit
a
custom-made
set of
Titleist
golf
clubs
and
various
golf
clothing
and
equipment
seized
from
Williams
during
an
August
2019
search
of his
residence.
In
addition,
Williams
has been
ordered
to pay
$15,459
in
restitution
to the
Internal
Revenue
Service
on
embezzled
items
that he
personally
received.
Finally,
the
Court
ordered
Williams
to pay
$132,517
in
restitution
to the
UAW.
Williams
is the
sixteenth
defendant
convicted
in
connection
with the
ongoing
criminal
investigation
into
corruption
within
the UAW
or
relating
to
illegal
payoffs
to UAW
officials
by FCA
executives.
The
following
other
individuals
have
already
pleaded
guilty
to their
participation
in the
scheme
and have
been
sentenced:
former
FCA Vice
President
for
Employee
Relations
Alphons
Iacobelli
(66
months
in
prison),
former
FCA
Financial
Analyst
Jerome
Durden
(15
months
in
prison),
former
Director
of FCA’s
Employee
Relations
Department
Michael
Brown
(12
months
in
prison),
former
senior
UAW
officials
Virdell
King (60
days in
prison),
Keith
Mickens
(12
months
in
prison),
Nancy A.
Johnson
(12
months
in
prison),
Monica
Morgan,
the
widow of
UAW Vice
President
General
Holiefield
(18
months
in
prison),
former
UAW Vice
President
Norwood
Jewell
(15
months
in
prison),
former
senior
UAW
official
Michael
Grimes
(28
moths),
former
UAW
Midwest
CAP
President
Edward
“Nick”
Robinson
(12
months
in
prison),
and
former
UAW Vice
President
Joseph
Ashton
(30
months).
In
addition,
the
following
UAW
officials
have
pleaded
guilty
and are
awaiting
sentencing:
former
UAW
President
Gary
Jones
and
former
UAW
Region 5
Director
UAW
Board
member
Vance
Pearson.
FCA US
LLC
pleaded
guilty
in
January
2021 to
conspiring
to
violate
the Taft
Hartley
Act, and
the
company
will be
sentenced
in June
2021.
Former
senior
UAW
official
Jeffrey
“Paycheck”
Pietrzyk
passed
away
before
being
sentenced.
In
December
2020,
the
United
States
filed a
civil
lawsuit
against
the UAW
under
the
Anti-Fraud
Injunction
Act
based on
the
criminal
investigation
of the
UAW, FCA
US LLC,
and
FCA’s
executives.
Subsequently,
the
United
States
and the
UAW
entered
into a
Consent
Decree
to
settle
the
lawsuit
that was
approved
by the
U.S.
District
Court.
The
United
States
has
proposed
a
candidate
to the
Court to
serve as
the
Independent
Monitor
of the
UAW for
the next
six
years.
The
Monitor
is
tasked
with
providing
federal
oversight
of the
UAW
concerning
fraud,
corruption,
and
misconduct
within
the UAW.
In
addition,
the
Monitor
will
conduct
and
oversee
a
referendum
of all
UAW
members
to
determine
if the
membership
wants to
adopt a
direct
election,
also
known as
“one
member,
one
vote,”
method
of
electing
the
members
of the
UAW’s
International
Executive
Board.
Acting
U.S.
Attorney
Mohsin
commended
the
outstanding
work of
the
Internal
Revenue
Service
–
Criminal
Investigations,
the U.S.
Department
of Labor
– Office
of
Labor-Management
Standards
and
Office
of
Inspector
General,
and the
Federal
Bureau
of
Investigation
in
conducting
a
comprehensive
criminal
investigation
into
labor
corruption
activities
involving
a vital
sector
of the
local
and
national
economy.
“The
Court’s
sentence
for
former
UAW
President
Williams
demonstrates
that the
very
highest
level of
leadership
of the
UAW has
been
held
accountable
for
betraying
the
trust of
the
UAW’s
membership,”
said
Acting
United
States
Attorney
Saima S.
Mohsin.
“Today’s
sentence
sends a
strong
message
that
union
leaders
must
strictly
adhere
to the
highest
ethical
standards
in
running
their
unions.”
"Instead
of
serving
the
interests
of the
hard-working
men and
women of
the UAW,
Dennis
Williams
conspired
with
senior
UAW
officials
to
embezzle
over $1
million
in union
funds.
Williams
spent
the
embezzled
funds on
extravagant
meals,
liquor,
golf,
and
travel
for
personal
enrichment.
We will
continue
to work
with our
law
enforcement
partners
to
investigate
corrupt
union
officials
who
betray
the
union
members
they are
entrusted
to
represent,”
stated
Irene
Lindow,
Special
Agent-in-Charge,
Chicago
Region,
U.S.
Department
of Labor
Office
of
Inspector
General.
"Today's
sentencing
is one
more
step in
a long
campaign
of
restoring
the UAW
to
working
for the
rights
of its
members,"
said
Timothy
Waters,
Special
Agent in
Charge
of FBI
Detroit.
"Williams'
sentencing
is
another
chapter
closed
in a
culture
of
corruption
that
permeated
the UAW
to the
very
top. We
will
continue
to work
alongside
our
partners
in law
enforcement
to root
out
wrongdoing
and end
pervasive
greed
among
those
who
abuse
their
positions
of power
for
their
own
enrichment."
“Today’s
sentencing
is
another
step
towards
the
honest
leadership
UAW
members
deserve,”
stated
Kelly
Lewis,
Acting
Special
Agent in
Charge
of the
Detroit,
Michigan
office
of the
Internal
Revenue
Service
–
Criminal
Investigation.
IRS
Criminal
Investigation
is fully
committed
to
investigating
anyone
who
intentionally
conceals
income
from the
IRS.”
“Safeguarding
financial
integrity
in labor
unions
and
combating
financial
malfeasance
is a
very
high
priority
for the
U.S.
Department
of
Labor.
While
the vast
majority
of union
officials
do their
work
diligently
and
without
incident,
Dennis
Williams
betrayed
the
trust
the UAW
membership
placed
in him
and
embezzle
hundreds
of
thousands
of
dollars
from the
UAW, so
he could
live a
lavish
lifestyle
at the
expense
of the
UAW and
its
members,”
said
Thomas
Murray,
District
Director,
U.S.
Department
of
Labor,
Office
of
Labor-Management
Standards.
“OLMS
will
continue
to work
with its
law
enforcement
partners
to hold
accountable
anyone
that
unlawfully
exploits
their
union
position
to
enrich
themselves
without
regard
to the
best
interests
of union
members.”
The case
is being
prosecuted
by
Assistant
U.S.
Attorneys
David A.
Gardey,
Steven
Cares,
and
Adriana
Dydell.
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