Ex-UAW Chief Admits Conspiring to Embezzle Union Funds

(Bloomberg) -- Former United Auto Workers president Dennis Williams admitted to embezzling funds from the union, becoming the latest official from the labor organization to plead guilty in a long-running federal corruption probe.

Williams, 67, who served as the union’s president from 2014 to 2018 and its secretary-treasurer for four years before that, faces as much as 24 months behind bars as part of a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in Detroit.

Arguably the most prominent member of the union to be prosecuted in the probe, Williams was charged in August, a year after the Federal Bureau of Investigation searched his home. More than a dozen people have been convicted in the sweeping U.S. investigation into embezzlement and illegal payoffs to union officials by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV executives.

Gary Jones, who succeeded Williams as UAW president, pleaded guilty in June to embezzlement and racketeering.

The charges against Williams came just weeks after General Motors Co. alleged he received funds from Fiat Chrysler to place former UAW vice president Joe Ashton on GM’s board. The accusations came as part of a GM lawsuit alleging that Fiat Chrysler got better contracts than competing automakers by bribing union officials. Ashton has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

Palm Springs Villas

Williams and other UAW officials are accused of conspiring to hide hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of personal spending by submitting forms for expenses supposedly incurred in connection with union conferences in California and Missouri. In reality, prosecutors said, they used the money to pay for stays at Palm Springs villas, cigars, high-end liquor, meals, golfing apparel and greens fees.

In a statement to the court, Williams admitted accepting goods and services paid for with union funds. He also said he deliberately chose not to investigate the source of the money despite suspicions it was coming out of the organization’s coffers. Williams apologized to the court, his family and “each and every hardworking UAW member paying dues.”

The UAW represents more than 400,000 active members and more than 580,000 retired members in more than 600 local U.S. unions.

“To serve them was an honor for me,” said Williams. “That is why it is especially painful and humbling here today. As an officer of UAW I held a position of trust. I know that my actions and my failure to act abused that trust and hurt the union that I love. I am here to take full responsibility.”

In a statement, the UAW said that Williams “put his personal and self-interest above that of our members and this Union” and called for “serious legal consequences.” The union said it stopped paying its former president’s legal fees over the summer and would require him to repay earlier legal fees along with any funds he wrongly took or misspent.

The case is U.S. v. Williams, 20-cr-20382, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan (Detroit).

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