Ohio: Two ex-union officers face federal charges


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According to the Toledo Blade:

Two former top officers for Laborers' Local 500 who lost their jobs after it was revealed they used thousands of union dollars to pay for personal meals and strip-club visits are now facing federal criminal charges.


Steven Thomas, 40, of Toledo, was charged with two counts of labor union embezzlement. Thomas Leonard, 45, of Maumee, was charged with one count of labor union embezzlement. Indictments against both men were filed in U.S. District Court in Toledo late Wednesday.

The federal charges follow a lengthy Department of Labor investigation and occur nearly two years after allegations of embezzlement emerged against the two men. In 2006, the parent organization of Local 500, Laborers International Union of North America, filed disciplinary charges against the men, who both were removed from office.

According to the indictment, Mr. Thomas, who was the construction union's business manager, used a Local 500 credit card to charge visits to two strip clubs - Scarlett's Gentlemen's Club in Toledo and Kahoots Gentlemen's Club in Columbus. Specifically, the indictment alleges that Mr. Thomas used the credit card to accrue $17,500 in charges at the clubs between December, 2003, and December, 2004.

Additionally, Mr. Thomas is accused of receiving cash advances for travel between September, 2001, and October, 2005, that equaled about $11,000, but "for which he did not provide receipts or for which he did not incur legitimate union expense."...click to continue.

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