ILA Officials in South Florida Indicted on Charges of Stealing Union Funds
The former president of the International Longshoremen's Association Local 1526 and his executive assistant were indicted on charges of conspiracy to steal money, funds, property, and other assets of the union local, said the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. The 17-count indictment and the arrests of defendants Darryl Brice Payne, a/k/a Darryl "Mike D," Payne, 47, of Sunrise, and Tianni Latrice Brown, f/k/a Tianni Latrice Wade, 31, of Lauderhill, Fla., last week.
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The indictment charged that Payne and Brown, from March 2008 through August 2009, stole union assets, endeavoring to influence, obstruct or impede the due administration of justice, and making false statements to investigators.
According to the indictment, Payne and Brown prepared and used false and altered documents to deceive union officials and obtain union funds purportedly to pay for legitimate assets, goods, services and travel expenses for the use of the union. In fact, however, those expenses covered the personal expenses of the defendants and others, the Justice Department said.
The indictment also alleges that Payne engaged in a mail fraud scheme to deceive officials of the ILA Pension Fund by presenting a falsely altered U.S. Department of Labor document that made it appear as if he had received workers' compensation for about four years (1991-1994), when he had received workers' compensation payments for only about four months in 1991. By using the falsely altered document, Payne was able to obtain one additional year credited to his time as a beneficiary of the ILA Pension Fund, it said.
If convicted, the defendants face the following possible maximum sentences for each of the various counts ranging from five to 20 years in prison.