An UAW leader charged with embezzling union funds in contract negotiations in Detroit

DETROIT – A regional director of the United Auto Workers union has been charged with embezzlement and other corruption charges as part of an increasingly important investigation into corruption by the federal government.

Federal prosecutors said that the director of UAW Region 5, Vance Pearson, had conspired with other union officials to divert hundreds of thousands of dollars in union funds "to their personal advantage as well as for other crimes ".

Pearson, 58, of St. Charles, Missouri, was arrested on Thursday and faces charges of embezzlement; money laundering; help and encourage; conspiracy; postal and telegraphic fraud; and filing and keeping false union reports in the government.

The charges come as the union negotiates new contracts with Detroit automakers and two weeks after FBI and IRS agents raided Pearson's home and office in Missouri. They also raided the home of UAW President Gary Jones and his former president, Dennis Williams, among other properties. Jones and Williams have not been charged with any crime.

The UAW did not immediately respond to comments on the charges against Pearson, a member of the union's international executive board, which is the highest governing body of the UAW.

Pearson is the tenth person to be charged as part of the Justice Department's multi-year investigation, which has already led to the conviction of nine union-affiliated officials or Fiat Chrysler.

The charges against Pearson mark a major turning point in the Justice Department's multi-year investigation, as he is an active leader of the UAW. All previous charges were against former or retired union leaders.

Detroit's criminal complaint alleges that Pearson and other unidentified union officials conspired to embezzle UAW money by concealing personal expenses in the cost of the region's 5 conferences. UAW held in California and Missouri.

Federal prosecutors, for example, have stated that Pearson and other union leaders have used the UAW's money to purchase sets of golf clubs, individual clubs and other golfing equipment costing thousands of dollars.

During the search warrants executed two weeks ago, prosecutors said officers found dozens of cigars, humidifiers and other tobacco-related items in their personal residences. In addition, agents have seized hundreds of high-end alcohol bottles, hundreds of golf shirts, multiple sets of golf clubs and tens of thousands of dollars in cash.

Each case of embezzlement of trade union funds is punishable by five years imprisonment and a fine of $ 10,000. Mail and wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $ 250,000. Money laundering carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $ 250,000.