Ex-Union Head Gets 3 Years’ Probation
A former Ventura union leader was sentenced this week for embezzling from her union and then allegedly using the money to play bingo.
Ernestine Watson, 60, was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles to three years’ probation and ordered to repay $3,575, said U.S. Atty. Paul Stern.
Suspicion about possible irregularities with union funds arose after checks written on the union account were being returned for insufficient funds, said Mike Miller, an investigator with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Watson, who was president of the Glass Molders Local 150, which represented members working at the Wheaton Plastics Co., was suspended from her post in February 1994 after the irregularities were discovered, officials said.
Wheaton Plastics has since closed its Ventura manufacturing plant, and the union--which represented workers making plastic and glass fixtures--has since disbanded, officials said.
Along with probation and repaying the funds, Watson was sentenced to home confinement for four months. She must also serve 50 hours of community service and pay a $25 special assessment fee.
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