Investing.com -- A former business manager of the Washington D.C. division of the Laborers International Union of North America has been charged with stealing from the organization, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday.
Anthony Frederick Sr., 49, Upper Marlboro, Maryland was charged in U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia with one count of theft from a labor organization. For a period of roughly a year through May, 2014, Frederick allegedly directed more than $1.57 million from the union's Local 657 division to a contractor in Maryland without alerting members of the local union's executive board. Frederick also refrained from reporting the transfer of funds to members of LIUNA International, which represents 500,000 laborers in the construction industry.
Frederick, according to the criminal complaint, paid more than $1 million to the contracting company for renovations at the union's local administrative building. Furthermore, Frederick allegedly directed more than $580,000 in the labor union's funds to fast-track construction permits for the construction of a new Local 657 training center. In addition, a LIUNA auditor also uncovered evidence that Frederick allegedly grossly overpaid the contractor for a variety of permits. In one notable instance, he approved a payment of $20,000 for a $143 excavation permit. In another, he directed another payment of $20,000 to renew an existing permit, which the local union could have obtained for $250.
STS Contracting, the company named in the criminal complaint, allegedly paid a down payment of $225,000 on a home purchased by Frederick and directed more than $600,000 to a company owned partly by Frederick's wife. Executives from STS Contracting also allegedly drained a bank account, which contained stolen Local 657 funds by withdrawing $500,000 to use on shopping trips, hotel stays, international travel and other personal expenses.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Labor.