Simple Greed: Ex-UAW Leader Jones Charged With Corruption
DETROIT—Prosecutors on Thursday charged the former president of the United Auto Workers with corrupt..
DETROIT—Prosecutors on Thursday charged the former president of the United Auto Workers with corruption, alleging he plotted with others to embezzle more than $1 million to splurge on private villas, golf outings, boozy meals and horseback rides on beaches.
The federal government has been marching toward Gary Jones for months, after an embarrassing search of his Detroit-area home and a series of guilty pleas in a wide-ranging investigation of UAW leaders living the high life while representing blue collar workers.
“We stand before you today because of greed—pure and simple greed. … The charges against Gary Jones are offensive to the hard-working men and women of the UAW,” said Steve DAntuono, the head of the FBI in Detroit.
Jones was charged with conspiring to embezzle, to aid racketeering and to defraud the government. The document was titled a criminal “information,” which signals that a guilty plea is likely.
Defense attorney J. Bruce Maffeo offered no comment. Jones was UAW president for about 1 1/2 years before quitting under a cloud in November.
Nine union officials and a late officials spouse have pleaded guilty since 2017. The investigation began with the discovery that Fiat Chrysler money from a Fiat Chrysler-UAW job training center was stolen. It then stretched to embezzlement of union funds.
The court filing against Jones describes a scheme to pocket cash and enjoy luxuries, starting in 2010, long before he rose to the presidency.
Jones and other officials set up accounts that were supposed to be used for legitimate conference expenses in California. Instead, according to the government, they used the money to pay for “private villas, high-end liquor and meal expenses, golfing apparel, golf clubs and green fees.”
Jones, for example, ordered more than $13,000 worth of cigars from a shop in Arizona, according to the court document.
U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider recited a litany of other excesses: horseback riding on the beach, sunglasses, spa treatments for spouses.
“We are not done and I cant predict when we will be done,” Schneider said when asked if more people were being targeted.
The latest guilty plea occurred Monday when Edward “Nick” Robinson appeared in court. He was based at the UAWs Region 5 office near St. Louis, which was led by Jones until Jones became UAW president in 2018. The government said Robinson fraudulently obtained $500,000 to $700,000, giving at least $60,000 to Jones.
Vance Pearson, another Jones ally from his time in St. Louis, pleaded guilty in February. He followed Jones to become head of the regional office.
The UAW expressed disgust about the allegations against Jones, who marched in Detroits Labor Day parade last year, just days after agents seized golf clubs and more than $30,000 from his Canton Township homeRead More – Source
