BLET Boss Stephen A Rooze Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement

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Stephen A Rooze was the Secretary/Treasurer for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET Division 662 in Burbank, California. He was charged with not one, two, or three counts, but FOUR counts of embezzlement. He allegedly stole $140,064 from union funds over the course of eight years of working as a union boss. This is just another example of the frequent corruption that goes on within unions. Putting Right to Work laws in place would allow workers to choose whether or not to join a union. This would then incentivize using union funds appropriately and give workers a way to make sure their money doesn’t go into the hands of corrupt bosses.

From the Department of Labor:

On August 30, 2021, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Stephen A Rooze […] pleaded guilty to four counts of embezzling union funds, in violation of 29 U.S.C. 501(c), and admitted to embezzling a total of $140,064 over an eight-year period. The guilty plea follows an investigation by OLMS Los Angeles District Office.

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

To read more on this case, please visit the DOL site here.

To stay up to date on Criminal Union Corruption, check out our 2021 U.S. DOL Criminal LMRDA Enforcement Actions page here.

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