Trending
A city woman who served as the secretary-treasurer for the American Postal Workers Union Local 776 plead guilty Tuesday to federal embezzlement charges after a yearslong investigation into union financial records revealed about $50,000 in misappropriated funds.
Nicole DeStefano, 52, appeared before U.S. District Judge Stephanie L. Haines to enter her guilty plea to one count of embezzlement of labor union assets and one count of falsifying an annual financial report filed by a labor union, according to a release from Tom Rivetti, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
The case stems from September 2022, when a member of Local 776 noticed the union's 2021 financial report showed unusual disbursements from prior years. DeStefano had signed the financial report as both the treasurer and president, but had not provided notice that she would be doing so, or permitting union members to examine the financial records, the release states.
Blair Township police executed a search warrant on DeStefano's bank records, which showed DeStefano wrote checks to herself and to "cash" from the union accounts between December 2019 and August 2022 for about $30,500. A subsequent audit of the union's bank accounts revealed about 43 unauthorized debit transactions for about $20,000, the release states.
DeStefano omitted disbursing money to herself in annual financial reports that she filed with the Secretary of Labor for three consecutive years. In September 2022, DeStefano transferred $8,500 from her account into the union bank account and resigned from her position with the union. She had been secretary-treasurer since 2015 and was responsible for maintaining all financial records, preparing annual reports and issuing payments on behalf of Local 776, the release states.
Haines scheduled sentencing for Jan. 19, 2027.
DeStefano faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a fine of $10 million or twice the amount DeStefano gained as a result of her actions, or both.
Due to her guilty plea to felony embezzlement, DeStefano will be unable to hold union office for 13 years, the release states.