Wall Street Journal

A U GU ST 2, 2012

Ex-Union Leader Is Charged With Fraud

By KRIS MAHER
A form er rising star w ithin the Service Employees Interna tional Union has been charged w ith bilking his ex-em ployer, one of the nation's m ost pow erful labor groups. Tyrone Freem an, 42 years old , w ho once led a large Los Angeles-based local representing low -w age health-care w orkers, w as ind icted Tuesd ay on 15 crim inal counts, includ ing m ail fraud and the em bezzlem ent of $100,000. Mr. Freem an is accu sed of d iverting union fu nd s in $2,500 m onthly paym ents in 2007 and 2008. The fed eral grand jury that ind icted Mr. Freem an late Tuesd ay said he also im properly took $17,000 from a low -incom e-housing nonprofit group and used a union cred it card to pay $8,000 tow ard his H aw aii w ed d ing. The charges cap a four-year probe by the Labor Departm ent, the Fed eral Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Freem a n, w ho now lives in Pittsburgh and has recently w orked as a business consultant, faces a m axim um sentence of more than 200 years in prison if convicted on all counts. H is attorney, Michael Zw eiback, said Mr. Freem an is innocent of all charges and w ill plead not guilty at an arraignm ent sched uled for Sept. 24 in fed eral d istrict court in Los Angeles. "When the truth com es out at trial, it w ill be abund antly clear that he acted appropriately at all tim es," Mr. Zw eiback said . Abel Salinas, the Labor Departm ent's special agent in charge of the Los Angeles regional office, said the ind ictm ent d em onstrates the fed eral governm ent's "com m itm ent to investigating allegations of labor racketeering in our nation's unions." In June, Mr. Freem an's w ife, Pilar Planells, plead ed guilty to a m isdem eanor count of failure to file a 2008 tax return in connection w ith m ore than $540,000 in consulting fees her vid eo prod uction com pany earned that year from the local her husband led . Mr. Freem an w as chief of SEIU Local 6434, know n as United Long Term Care Workers, or ULTCW, w hich now represents 180,000 w orkers w ho provid e health care to the eld erly and d isabled in nursing hom es and private resid ences. H e had been appointed to the post by form er SEIU Presid ent And y Stern, w ho retired in 2010. "The m em bers of SEIU ULTCW are pleased that justice is being served ," Mr. Freem an's form er local said . The SEIU d ism issed Mr. Freem an in 2008 and barred him for life from the union. In 2009, the SEIU sued him in Los Angeles Su perior Court, seekin g to recover m ore than $1.1 m illion in union fund s it said he m isspent. The fund s alleged ly includ e $13,000

paid to the Grand H avana Room in Beverly H ills for $175 glasses of cognac, am ong other expenses. Thom Mrozek, a spokesm an for the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles, d eclined to com m ent on w hether any other SEIU officials could be charged , citing a continuing investigation. Write to Kris Maher at kris.m aher@w sj.com http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443545504577563354099070924.html?_nocac he=1343943328910&user=welcome&mg=id-wsj