Who Embezzled Teacher's Money?
The American Federation of Teachers estimates that roughly $5 million was taken from its subsidiary, the Washington Teachers Union, between 1996 and 2002. The amounts below are just those that can be directly traced to individual conspirators.
Barbara Bullock was president of the Washington Teachers Union from 1994 to 2003. In 2003 Bullock was forced out of her office after it was discovered that she had embezzled millions of dollars from the union. She racked up $1.8 million in unauthorized credit card charges and an additional $381,000 in illicit payments.
Gwendolyn Hemphill, an aide to Bullock, spent $492,000 in unauthorized credit card charges and checks.
James Baxter, the treasurer of the WTU, made $537,000 in credit card purchases and illicit payments.
Leroy Holmes was a chauffeur employed by the WTU. He cashed $1.2 million in improper checks for other conspirators and received an annual "salary" of $105,000 -- higher than any WTU official other than Bullock.
Michael Martin (Hemphill's son-in-law) and
Errol Adelman operated the company "Expressions Unlimited," which billed the union for $483,000 in fraudulent expenses.
Sources:
The Washington Post (“2 convicted in teachers union case“; “Audit says union lost $5 million to theft“),
Washington Times (“Staffer charged in teachers“ union scandal“),
American Teacher (“AFT council authorizes takeover of D.C. local“),
Fox News (“D.C. teachers“ union plagued with scandal“.
For years, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) failed to protect the members of its subsidiary, the Washington (District of Columbia) Teachers Union. And according to a March 2003 AFT publication, WTU president Barbara Bullock -- along with a small group of co-conspirators -- bilked $5 million from the union between 1995 and 2002. That amounts to $1,000 per member stolen, laundered, or used for the personal expenses of union officials.
Around 1996, Bullock discovered fashion.
The Washington Post reported in October 2003 that she began wearing custom-made dresses and carrying handbags by Louis Vuitton and Chanel. Bullock bought an exercise bike and treadmill. After shedding the pounds, Bullock was forced to buy a new wardrobe. In time, she would spend $150,000 at Neiman Marcus, $20,000 at wigmaker Orreon Styles, and upwards of $500,000 at a dress shop near Baltimore.
Fox News reported that WTU members' money was used for luxury items including fur, silver, art, jewelry, custom-made clothes, and improper political donations to the Democratic National Committee and the U.S. Senate campaign of Hilary Rodham Clinton, both of which were returned.
The conspiracy even included the creation of a fraudulent company, "Expressions Unlimited," created by a son-in-law of Bullock aide Gwendolyn Hemphill. Expressions Unlimited laundered more than $480,000 from the teachers' union, the
Washington Times reported.
As more people began dipping into the union's coffers, the WTU began to struggle financially in visible ways.
The Washington Post reported that rent and phone bills were left unpaid, broken-down office equipment would go for months before it was repaired. As noted by the National Legal and Policy Center, the union ceased making regular monthly dues payments to the AFT in the fall of 2000. The WTU's failure to make these payments, which had totaled $50,000 per month, should have caught the attention of the national teachers' union, but AFT officials allowed the dues to slide for nearly two years.
The last straw, however, came in the summer of 2002 when Bullock, apparently short of cash, instructed the DC public schools to increase the monthly dues deductions from 5,000 teachers. The National Legal and Policy Center has reported that the monthly deductions should have increased by $16, but WTU told the DC public schools to hike the dues by $160. When teachers protested, the scam started to unravel.
Read more at LaborPains.org