-By Warner Todd Huston
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has made its first determinations in the Tyrone Freeman spending and influence peddling scandal that plagued a California Local. Freeman has been removed from the SEIU payrolls.
The L.A. Times launched a major investigation revealing the fraud and misuse of funds tied to Freeman and his close associates that we’ve discussed at length here on the blog. But, the SEIU report had a few new allegations, too.
Most of the union’s findings mirror The Times’ disclosures. But an SEIU report contains new allegations that Freeman spent dues-payers’ funds on his 2006 wedding and a Santa Barbara resort, and improperly drew payments from an affiliated local and a housing corporation.
The nine-page report, from union trustee John Ronches to SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger, spells out seven charges accusing Freeman of violating the union’s corruption statutes.
The SEIU report alleges that Freeman’s dealings with the housing firm and worker-training charity amounted to a “misuse of the funds of these nonprofit corporations by his disregard for the specific nonprofit missions for which they were created.”
The L.A.Times reports that an unnamed union official says that more charges will be forthcoming.
What gets lost so easily in this discussion of Freeman’s corruption is that he was a protege of SEIU president Andy Stern. Freeman was the sort of man that Stern wanted as a leader. It shows the sort of person that Stern takes under his wing causing worry about his other proteges.
At least, though, this one corrupt union thug is getting his just deserts.
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Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as newsbusters.org, townhall.com, New Media Journal, Men’s News Daily and the New Media Alliance among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of publiusforum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston