FBI Investigating Ex-SEIU President Andy Stern

[Jeanfromfillmore]

FBI Investigating Ex-SEIU President Andy Stern
WASHINGTON -- The FBI and the U.S. Labor Department are investigating prominent labor leader Andy Stern in their probe of corruption at the Service Employees International Union, according to two people
who have been interviewed by federal agents.
The two organized labor officials met with federal agents this summer to answer questions about a six-figure book contract that Stern landed in 2006 and his role in approving money to pay the salary of an SEIU leader in California who allegedly performed no work.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the investigation.
The FBI and the Labor Department's office of inspector general declined to comment for the record.
The disclosure about the federal inquiry of Stern -- who abruptly resigned as president of the 2.2-million member SEIU in April -- comes just weeks ahead of contentious congressional elections in which the union is spending an estimated $44 million to support its favored Democratic candidates.
The SEIU has been plagued with several financial scandals since 2008, when the Los Angeles Times reported that Tyrone Freeman, head of the union's largest California local, misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars from the union. The union ousted Freeman and demanded that he return the money. No federal charges have been filed against him, but SEIU spokeswoman Michelle Ringuette said the union has been cooperating with the FBI.
Stern left his post two years before the end of his term, saying he wanted to focus more on his personal life. He remains a member of President Barack Obama's deficit commission and a highly influential figure in the White House, where he was one of the most frequent visitors last year. He is also a research fellow at Georgetown University and a paid consultant for the SEIU.
Ringuette said she is unaware of any federal scrutiny of Stern. Ringuette rejected the notion that there was anything improper about the book deal or how the union paid its officials. She said similar unsubstantiated accusations have been floated for years by disgruntled former SEIU leaders and conservative bloggers.
One person who spoke to federal agents twice, in May and June, said they asked about a 2006 contract in which Stern received a $175,000 advance from Simon & Schuster to write the book "A Country That Works." The SEIU and its locals bought thousands of copies of the book after it was published. The union also paid thousands to fact-check and promote the book, but Stern pocketed the advance.
Ringuette said the SEIU's executive board fully vetted and approved the project. The board told local unions that purchasing Stern's book "is a truly voluntary decision on the part of those who make it, and no adverse impact will result for anyone or any entity who refrains from purchasing or promoting the book," according to documents obtained by the AP. The board also instructed locals to make sure any book purchases were authorized by the local's constitution and bylaws.
Ringuette said the Simon & Schuster contract "did not require the purchase of a single book by SEIU." Stern also received no royalties from book sales to the union.
Federal officials are also asking questions about how Stern and union officials approved payments to Alejandro Stephens, former president of the SEIU local that represents Los Angeles County government workers, according to the people who were interviewed.
The FBI has been investigating Stephens for more than a year. Earlier this month, he was sentenced in federal court this month to four months in jail and three months' home confinement after pleading guilty to stealing $52,000 from a voter outreach program.
Stern has not been linked to any of the charges resulting in Stephens' guilty plea. But federal agents are seeking details about the time in 2007 when Stephens' local was merged into a larger SEIU local and he lost his post as president. The SEIU offered Stephens a generous severance package and a new job as a $75,000-a-year consultant to the SEIU California State Council.
Ringuette said the union arranged for Stephens to perform consulting work for the council and agreed to reimburse the council for his annual salary. But she said the union later discovered Stephens wasn't actually doing any work.
Federal law prohibits labor unions from creating what amounts to "no-show" jobs that pay someone for work they do not perform.
Stephens' attorney, Roger Rosen, said his client has not cooperated with federal officials and has no plans to in the future.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010...nt-andy-stern/

Election Panel Dismisses Complaint Against SEIU, Clears Way for Union to Amass War Chest
Despite a finding by the Federal Election Commission's general counsel that the Service Employees International Union violated election law when it required local affiliates to contribute to its political action fund, the FEC's full board nonetheless quietly voted to overrule its staff attorney and dismissed the original complaint -- clearing the way for the union to squeeze its locals to amass a $9 million war chest for the next election.
Moreover, the group that filed the complaint, the National Right to Work Foundation (NRWF), didn't receive a full explanation of the FEC's decision in the case until after 111 days had passed, ensuring that its right to file an appeal had lapsed.
"They can't do that," said foundation president Mark Mix, who is vowing to challenge the commission's actions. "We will pursue the appeals process. We are working on it now," adding that he's prepared to file a new complaint, if necessary.
No one at the FEC "will speak in reference to this case," spokeswoman Julia Queen told Fox News.
The NRWF, long a thorn in the side of the 1.8 million-member union, filed its complaint in October 2008, challenging an amendment to the union's constitution that required each local to contribute $6 per member to the international's political action committee. Those locals that didn't comply would be charged the difference between what they owed and what they raised -- plus, a 50 percent penalty.
"To us it was a prima facie case for coercion," Mix said. "Plus, it looked like a money laundering scheme as well, because locals would pay the penalties from their general funds into the political action committee. General union treasury funds are not allowed to be used for political purposes," he said.
Queen defended the FEC's actions, and said it was the Right to Work Foundation's responsibility to file its appeal immediately after it received the one-page letter of dismissal -- called a "Letter of Reasoning" -- which is usually issued within 30 days of the decision and explains the basis for any decision.
The letter "gets done whenever the commissioners decide to put their reasoning on paper," Queen explained.
But Bruce Cameron, the NRWF attorney who brought the case, said Queen's explanation doesn't make sense.
"To bring an appeal I have to show that the FEC abused its discretion. I can't do that with a simple dismissal letter," he said, adding that the FEC's logic in granting the dismissal made little sense. "They created a mystical distinction between the union and its membership that makes no sense," he said.
SEIU spokewoman Michelle Ringuette defended the FEC's actions.
"What the FEC found was that there was not a scintilla of evidence behind Mr. Mix's claim that any of our member's PAC contributions were in any way coerced. They are not," she said. "Mr. Mix's organization is dedicated to denying workers their right to a voice on the job, and what bothers Mr. Mix is that hundreds of thousands of low-wage workers who want a say in politics choose to voluntarily contribute to a political action committee."
It was the second time the NRWF has battled the SEIU over dues money going to political campaigns. During the 2004 presidential campaign, the SEIU, one the most politically active unions in the nation, was a key mover in forming Americans Coming Together (ACT), which raised more than $130 million for progressive candidates – including $26 million from SEIU coffers.
The NRWF complaint challenged ACT's funding and distribution of money to progressive candidates. A three-year FEC investigation found that ACT had violated federal fund-raising regulations, for which ACT was fined $775,000, the third largest fine ever imposed by the FEC
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010...ppealnational/

[REWHBLCAIN]

I just saw this on FOX and it sounds like he's gonna get it good!