Federal court hands down a major conviction of corrupt union bosses
‘The right to resign union membership and stop paying dues didn’t exist until 5 years ago’
Last month, federal prosecutors scored a guilty verdict for executives of the New York-based Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association (LEEBA) on charges of corruption, including embezzlement, conspiracy to commit tax evasion, and making false statements to federal investigators.
Former New York state trooper Kenneth Wynder Jr., president and co-founder of LEEBA, is accused of stealing some $500,000 from union members’ retirement accounts. Two other union executives were also charged in the scheme.
Wynder allegedly used the funds for things like buying a Lexus, going sailing and traveling to Dallas for a Cowboys game. The Department of Justice found that the embezzlement scheme wiped out “the entire balance of certain members’ [retirement] accounts.”
The blatant theft was apparently the icing on the cake. Some in the LEEBA membership already felt that that union was simply slacking – doing a poor job of representing them at the bargaining table.
