Diana Frey, the former Cincinnati city labor president who stole more than $750,000 from the union she created, Thursday was sentenced to 51 months in prison and ordered to repay the money by a federal judge who said she “left … a mess” for hundreds who trusted her.In ordering Frey to serve longer than the 33 to 41 months recommended under federal sentencing guidelines, U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott said an extended sentence was appropriate given that Frey’s “blatant pattern” of deceit and theft seriously harmed more than 800 union members.
Although Frey’s attorney had cited the non-violent nature of her offense, among other factors, in seeking a shorter sentence, Dlott said that was no reason for leniency.
“In white-collar crime, a person can do with a pen what a drug dealer is doing with his gun,” Dlott said. “It’s not really any different.”
The judge also issued a preliminary forfeiture order sought by federal prosecutors under which the government might ultimately seize her interest in three homes in West Price Hill and automobiles to help repay about $741,000.
During the hour-long hearing, Frey made her first extended public remarks since allegations surfaced last summer that she had embezzled money from Cincinnati Organized and Dedicated Employees, the city union of middle managers, professionals and technical workers that she helped found and led as president for more than six years.
Last September, she pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud count stemming from charges that she had stolen $758,056 in CODE dues from 2005 through mid-2001.
In recent days, she repaid $17,013, reducing the restitution amount to $741,042.77.
Frey, whose expression shifted from subdued to grim during the hearing, apologized to her family, CODE members and the city “for the shame and embarrassment I’ve caused all of them.”
But Dlott, in siding with the government’s request for a 51-month term, said she was moved more by how Frey’s actions affected CODE’s members– “I know what it is to be left with a mess” – and by her prior convictions dating back to the 1980s for theft by deception and passing bad checks. “They show a continuing pattern of theft,” Dlott said.
Much of the money Frey stole from CODE went for routine personal expenses such as meals, travel and gasoline, as well as to pay property taxes and utility bills for the three homes, the government said.
It also paid for an in-ground pool at her home, a daughter’s car and even “pampering for her pets,” according to government documents.
“She liked being the person at the bar able to pick up the tab,” “She was just someone drunk with power … and stealing because she could,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Mangan.
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120607/NEWS/306070042/Diana-Frey-sentenced-51-months-embezzling
Just another typical union president, only this one got caught.
Although Frey’s attorney had cited the non-violent nature of her offense, among other factors, in seeking a shorter sentence, Dlott said that was no reason for leniency.
“In white-collar crime, a person can do with a pen what a drug dealer is doing with his gun,” Dlott said. “It’s not really any different.”
The judge also issued a preliminary forfeiture order sought by federal prosecutors under which the government might ultimately seize her interest in three homes in West Price Hill and automobiles to help repay about $741,000.
During the hour-long hearing, Frey made her first extended public remarks since allegations surfaced last summer that she had embezzled money from Cincinnati Organized and Dedicated Employees, the city union of middle managers, professionals and technical workers that she helped found and led as president for more than six years.
Last September, she pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud count stemming from charges that she had stolen $758,056 in CODE dues from 2005 through mid-2001.
In recent days, she repaid $17,013, reducing the restitution amount to $741,042.77.
Frey, whose expression shifted from subdued to grim during the hearing, apologized to her family, CODE members and the city “for the shame and embarrassment I’ve caused all of them.”
But Dlott, in siding with the government’s request for a 51-month term, said she was moved more by how Frey’s actions affected CODE’s members– “I know what it is to be left with a mess” – and by her prior convictions dating back to the 1980s for theft by deception and passing bad checks. “They show a continuing pattern of theft,” Dlott said.
Much of the money Frey stole from CODE went for routine personal expenses such as meals, travel and gasoline, as well as to pay property taxes and utility bills for the three homes, the government said.
It also paid for an in-ground pool at her home, a daughter’s car and even “pampering for her pets,” according to government documents.
“She liked being the person at the bar able to pick up the tab,” “She was just someone drunk with power … and stealing because she could,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Mangan.
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120607/NEWS/306070042/Diana-Frey-sentenced-51-months-embezzling
Just another typical union president, only this one got caught.