Treasurer, Financial Secretary of Massachusetts Steelworkers Local Sentenced

On October 2, Roody Lespinasse and Andy Alerte, respectively, the former treasurer and financial secretary of United Steelworkers Local 4-421, were sentenced in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts for making false entries in financial records of the Auburn, Mass. (Worcester County) union, formerly based in Brockton, to conceal thefts. Lespinasse, who pleaded guilty in February, must serve 18 months of probation and pay $20,818 in restitution plus a $25 assessment. Alerte, who pleaded guilty in March, must serve six months of probation and pay $5,100 in restitution plus a $25 assessment. Two other union officers, Stennett Bernard and Manuel Nogueira, were indicted with Lespinasse and Alerte in October 2010; Bernard pleaded guilty this May and was sentenced in August. All actions follow a probe by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.