On August 2, 2018, The U.S. Attorney For The Southern District Of New York Announced That Salvatore Armao Pled Guilty To Covering Up A Union Embezzlement Scheme By Filing False Reports With The Labor Department. “Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Michael C. Mikulka, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (‘DOL-OIG’), and Thomas Licetti, Acting New York Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Labor-Employee Benefits Security Administration (‘DOL-EBSA’), announced that SALVATORE ARMAO, the founder and managing partner of an accounting firm (the ‘Firm’), pled guilty today to making false filings with DOL in order to conceal an embezzlement scheme in which more than $100,000 was embezzled from a labor union (the ‘Union’) and its employee welfare benefit plan (the ‘Plan’).  ARMAO pled guilty before United States District Judge Vernon S. Broderick.” (The United States Attorney’s Office For The Southern District Of New York, “Founder And Managing Partner Of Accounting Firm Pleads Guilty To Making False Filings With The U.S. Department Of Labor,” Press Release, 8/2/18)

 

  • Armao Was The Founder Of The Accounting Firm The Union Used. “During the period of the embezzlement, the Firm served as the accountant and auditor for the Union and the Plan.” (The United States Attorney’s Office For The Southern District Of New York, “Founder And Managing Partner Of Accounting Firm Pleads Guilty To Making False Filings With The U.S. Department Of Labor,” Press Release, 8/2/18)

 

Armao Facilitated The Embezzlement Scheme By Falsely Classifying The Union President’s Personal Expenses As “Loans.” “To facilitate and conceal the President-Trustee’s embezzlement, ARMAO falsely classified as ‘loans’ the personal expenses for which the President-Trustee paid using Union and Plan funds in accounting records and in DOL filings for the Union.  In at least 2012, 2013, and 2014, ARMAO falsely classified the President-Trustee’s personal expenses as loans in DOL filings for the Union.” (The United States Attorney’s Office For The Southern District Of New York, “Founder And Managing Partner Of Accounting Firm Pleads Guilty To Making False Filings With The U.S. Department Of Labor,” Press Release, 8/2/18)

 

  • U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman: “As A Professional Accountant And Certified Fraud Examiner, Salvatore Armao Was Supposed To Serve As A Check On Labor Fraud, Not A Facilitator Of It.” “U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  ‘As a professional accountant and certified fraud examiner, Salvatore Armao was supposed to serve as a check on labor fraud, not a facilitator of it.  As he admitted today, Armao knowingly submitted false filings with the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service in order to facilitate and conceal a long-running embezzlement scheme involving a labor union.’” (The United States Attorney’s Office For The Southern District Of New York, “Founder And Managing Partner Of Accounting Firm Pleads Guilty To Making False Filings With The U.S. Department Of Labor,” Press Release, 8/2/18)

 

The Union President Had Used Union Funds For Personal Expenses Like Spa Treatments And A Gym Membership. “From at least in or about 2010 through in or about 2014, the president of the Union, who also served as a trustee of the Plan (the ‘President-Trustee’), repeatedly used Union funds to pay for his personal expenses, including payments for spa treatments, a gym membership, a second car, medical expenses, dues for an actors’ union, personal credit card charges, and ATM cash withdrawals.” (The United States Attorney’s Office For The Southern District Of New York, “Founder And Managing Partner Of Accounting Firm Pleads Guilty To Making False Filings With The U.S. Department Of Labor,” Press Release, 8/2/18)

 

During A Three Year Period The Union’s President Had Embezzled Over $100,000. “The President-Trustee used his Union credit card to pay for personal expenses and then ‘reimbursed’ the Union with funds transferred from the Plan.  In total, the President-Trustee embezzled more than $100,000 from the Union over approximately three years.” (The United States Attorney’s Office For The Southern District Of New York, “Founder And Managing Partner Of Accounting Firm Pleads Guilty To Making False Filings With The U.S. Department Of Labor,” Press Release, 8/2/18)

 

Armao Will Be Sentenced In November. “ARMAO’s sentencing is scheduled for November 8, 2018, at 2:30 p.m., before Judge Broderick.” (The United States Attorney’s Office For The Southern District Of New York, “Founder And Managing Partner Of Accounting Firm Pleads Guilty To Making False Filings With The U.S. Department Of Labor,” Press Release, 8/2/18)

 

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AZ Daily Sun--Coconino Voices: PRO Act legislation would hurt local businesses

— 05.13.2021 —
By: Julie Pastrik Arizona businesses and workers have had an incredibly challenging year given the economic slowdown that followed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. However, local businesses and industries across the state are resilient and on the road to a strong recovery that will mean more jobs for Arizona workers and increased economic development to strengthen our communities. That is, as long as Congress does not move forward with potentially devastating legislation that would hurt local employers and employees alike while impeding our state’s economic recovery. Unfortunately, some members of Congress seem determined to do just that by pushing through the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. As harmless as the name may sound, the PRO Act would have serious repercussions for local businesses, particularly smaller ones, while undermining long-standing rights for employees and threatening the growing gig economy that has helped provide much-needed income for so many during this time. Arizona is fortunate to have leaders like Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema, who have both refrained from joining the vast majority of their Democratic colleagues in cosponsoring the PRO Act. In a slap in the face to Arizona workers, the PRO Act removes one of the most fundamental rights a worker has when it comes to voting in elections to determine whether to unionize: the secret ballot. Instead, workers could be forced to sign union authorization cards in front of other employees, their employer, or union organizers. This bill would also destroy workers’ right to privacy by allowing unions access to personal information, including their home address and personal phone number. If that doesn’t open the door to union intimidation and harassment, I don’t know what does. As if that was not bad enough, the PRO Act would create major new challenges for Arizona businesses, making it harder for them to create jobs, expand in their communities, and even keep their doors open. It would redefine what it means to be a “joint employer” under national labor law, greatly complicating existing relationships between franchisors and franchisees as well as between business owners, contractors, subcontractors, and vendors and suppliers. At the same time, it would interfere with attorney-client confidentiality and make it much more difficult for small businesses to secure a legal advice on labor issues. Particularly harmful during these times, the PRO Act would apply a failed policy from California to national labor law by using the “ABC” test to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee. This makes it much harder to qualify as an independent contractor, threatening the freedom and flexibility that tens of thousands of Arizonans find in independent contracting and gig economy work. Ultimately, the PRO Act is bad public policy that only works for union leaders to inflate their falling ranks while threatening workers’ rights, undermining small businesses, and jeopardizing a growing part of our economy. This is not a good solution for Arizona, and Senators Sinema and Kelly should stay firm and not cosponsor this misguided legislation.
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