Feds: UAW official blew $6,900 at steakhouse with FCA workers' money

As promised, the federal government has charged another top union official in the growing Fiat Chrysler-UAW scandal — this one accused of pampering herself and associates with $6,900 steak dinners and first-class airline tickets with money that was meant for autoworkers.

But the feds' torpedoing doesn't end there as two more high-ranking union officials have been implicated in the multimillion-dollar scandal involving collusion between auto executives and UAW officials.

The latest defendant charged in the case is Nancy Johnson, the onetime second most senior official in the UAW Chrysler Department who is accused of buying — among other things — $1,200 luggage, $1,160 Christian Louboutin shoes and $6,900 in spa treatments with the help of Fiat Chrysler executives.

According to an indictment unsealed Wednesday, Johnson, 57, is among several UAW officials who unlawfully accepted perks from FCA executives, who, according to prosecutors, were on a mission to keep union leaders "fat, dumb and happy." They did this by funneling $4.5 million from a training fund to themselves and union officials, who are accused of spending the money on perks galore, everything from golf resort fees and limo services to jewelry and a shotgun.

According to the indictment, here is how Johnson pampered herself with money that was funneled to her by FCA officials:

In September 2015, Johnson spent $6,912 for a dinner at the London Chop House in Detroit with funds that came out of the National Training Center, which was supposed to train autoworkers and was funded by Fiat Chrysler.

In January 2015, Johnson spent $4,587 for a meal at LG's Prime Steak House in Palm Springs, Calif. The meal was paid for by training center funds.

The same month, Johnson spent more than $1,800 at Indian Canyons Golf Resort in Palm Springs. The golf fees and other purchases were paid for by the NTC funds.

The same month, Johnson spent $1,652 at Cardiff Limousine in Palm Springs for a round trip to San Diego. The money came from the training center.

The same month, Johnson spent more than $1,800 on a shopping spree in Palm Springs where she bought designer clothing and jewelry with training center funds.

In January and February 2015, Johnson spent $6,900 at the Renaissance Resort & Spa in Palm Springs. The spa fees were paid for by training center funds.

In December 2014, Johnson spent $1,914 on a first-class plane ticket for herself to travel to Palm Springs, and another $2,382 for another first-class ticket for her associate. Both plane tickets were paid for with training center money.

In December 2014, Johnson flew to California again, that time spending $2,382 on a first-class ticket to Los Angeles from Detroit. The plane ticket was paid for with training center money.

In February 2015, Johnson spent $1,217 at a spa in Pasadena, Calif., using training center funds.

In March 2015, Johnson spent $1,160 at Neiman Marcus online for a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes using training center funds.

In April 2015, Johnson spent more than $1,700 for a set of graphite women's golf clubs and a Diva cart bag purchased from Amazon.com using training center funds.

In May 2015, Johnson spent more than $1,000 at Divalicious and other retail stores in Orlando, and Clinton Township. She bought clothing, accessories and home furnishings with training center funds.

There was also a shotgun on this shopping list, prosecutors say.

In August 2015, Johnson allegedly directed another UAW official, Virdell King, to buy a shotgun as a birthday present for another, unnamed senior UAW officer. King obliged, prosecutors allege, and bought a $2,182 Italian-made Beretta shotgun at Field & Stream in Troy using training center funds.

Johnson's lawyer, Harold Gurewitz, declined comment.

Among those who pampered Johnson and others with the gifts is former FCA Vice President Alphons Iacobelli and ex-FCA financial analyst Jerome Durden — both of whom have pleaded guilty in the case.

The UAW, which has long maintained that no contracts were ever compromised by the alleged scheme, issued this statement Wednesday:

"The illegal misconduct alleged in today’s indictment is appalling and runs counter to the values our union has upheld for more than 80 years. Ms. Johnson was removed from the union in July 2016. There is no evidence that compromised individuals involved in this investigation, including Ms. Johnson, in any way corrupted the negotiations of the terms of the collective bargaining agreement."

The UAW went on to say that every contract "goes through numerous hands, including the presidents, the elected UAW-FCA National Negotiators and the UAW-FCA Council ... before being voted on and ratified by the membership."

The UAW also called the 2015 FCA agreement "one of the richest ever negotiated" and included the following:



• The first general wage increases in nine years for traditional members

• Health care improvements made while still maintaining no premiums for all members

• An improved profit-sharing formula that recently produced $5,500 on average to every FCA worker

• $1.7 billion in pension funding and a 6.4% 401(k) company contribution rate for in-progression members

• $5.3 billion in new U.S. investments and a moratorium on outsourcing

The other defendants in the case are Keith Mickens, another senior UAW official who is accused of using a National Training Center credit card in 2013 to buy more than $1,000 worth of luggage from a Detroit store. Between 2012 and 2014, he allegedly racked up $6,500 in charges on the credit card, buying items including electronics, designer clothing and golf equipment for himself and for other UAW officials.

Also charged in the scheme are Monica Morgan, 54, of Harrison Township, the widow of the late UAW Vice President General Holiefield. The government said Morgan and Holiefield both stole from the training center with the help of Iacobelli.

According to prosecutors, Iacobelli helped raid $4.5 million from the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center and spent it on himself and UAW officials, buying everything from luxury vehicles to $35,000 Mont Blanc ink pens.

Morgan also pleaded guilty in the case in February, but only to a tax crime, admitting she hid $201,000 from the government on her 2011 taxes, but without explaining where the money came from. She faces 27 months in prison under her sentencing guidelines. She will be sentenced June 4 and also has to pay $190,747 in restitution to the U.S. Treasury.

According to prosecutors, Morgan's photo business once received $70,000 from a charity that was supposed to help children struggling with hardships. The government claims the charity was really a sham, set up by Holiefield and Iacobelli, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion last month. Iacobelli faces up to eight years in prison.

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During the scheme, the government says, Holiefield was the director of the UAW Chrysler Department and acted as the lead negotiator and the lead administrator for the collective bargaining agreements between the UAW and FCA. He died in 2015.

According to court documents, the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center was funded by FCA and received between $13 million and $31 million a year. Prosecutors say at least $4.5 million of that money was misspent, and allege that FCA executives were bribing union brass with the intention of giving the company a better position at the bargaining table.

The UAW has stressed that the scheme did not affect negotiations.

Two others charged in the scheme have previously pleaded guilty and await sentencing. They are:

Jerome Durden of Rochester Hills, a financial analyst at FCA who allegedly helped conceal the fraud by cooking the books. He faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced in May.

Virdell King, 65, of Detroit, the first African-American female to be elected president of a local union in UAW-Chrysler's history, who was accused of — among other things — buying designer shoes, clothing, jewelry and luggage using credit cards that were issued through the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center. She also was accused of making more than $40,000 in additional purchases that pampered other senior UAW officials. King has pleaded guilty to her role in the scheme and awaits sentencing.

Allegations in the indictment coincide with a 2017 Department of Labor audit that questioned travel expenses for a union-related trip to Palm Springs, Calif., in 2015. The audit found that Local 31 from Kansas City, Kan., "did not retain hotel receipts for the 16 officers and employees who traveled to Palm Springs." According to the audit, at least $11,000 in reimbursed travel expenses incurred by local union officers were not backed up by receipts.

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @Tbaldas