U.S. District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock has sentenced William H. Carnes of Melrose, Mass., to five years of probation, the first year of which is to be served in home confinement with electronic monitoring,
and a $5,000 fine.
On April 25, 2003, Carnes and co-defendant George W. Cashman of Revere, Mass., each pleaded guilty to participating in illegal activities involving the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 25 located in Charlestown, Mass.
Specifically, Carnes pleaded guilty to four counts of a pending indictment charging him with two counts of theft or embezzlement from an employee benefit plan and two counts of mail fraud.
The IBT Local 25 has about 9,000 members. Cashman has been IBT Local 25's president since 1992 and Carnes its vice president for the same time period. The two were also trustees for IBT Local 25's Health Services and Insurance Plan, which provides health care benefits to approximately 20,000 active and retired members of IBT Local 25 and their families.
Cashman was also a trustee of the New England Teamsters and Trucking Industry Pension Fund, which provided retirement benefits to about 22,000 retired members of various IBT locals and their families.
Carnes pleaded guilty to the submission of false documents, which caused IBT Local 25 HSIP to pay healthcare claims for two ineligible members of IBT Local 25 and their dependents. He also pleaded guilty to using the U.S. mail to execute this scheme to defraud IBT Local 25 HSIP and cause it to pay healthcare claims for these ineligible members of IBT Local 25 and their dependents.
As a result of their pleas, both Cashman and Carnes will be barred from any further employment by a union or Employee Retirement Income Security Act fund for a period of 13 years.
Cashman is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Woodlock on Oct. 17. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years' incarceration and a $250,000 fine on the extortion charge and a maximum sentence of five years' incarceration and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge.
The investigation is continuing.