This official stole $40,000 from a Wallula paper mill union

The secretary-treasurer of a labor union in Wallula pilfered $40,000 from the organization over nine months.

Jason A. Richard has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Richland.

His admission came two months after the felony charge of embezzling labor union funds was filed, but before an indictment was returned by a federal grand jury.

The Walla Walla man already has paid back $9,400 to United Steelworkers Local Union 12-990.

Richard is free until his sentencing March 22, and is allowed to travel throughout Eastern Washington and Arizona.

He was ordered by Judge Sal Mendoza Jr. in the interim to surrender his passport and contact his defense lawyer at least once a week.

Richard was both an employee and a union officer for the labor organization, which holds its executive board and general membership meetings at the Wallula schoolhouse on Columbia Way.

The Packaging Corporation of America operates the Wallula plant on Highway 12, about 15 miles southeast of Pasco, producing corrugated cardboard and packaging materials.

Court documents show that the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards started a criminal investigation after learning about the embezzlement from local union auditors.

Richard, as the secretary-treasurer, had access to organization money and “was responsible for all the union’s financial transactions.”

He abused a position of trust and acted willfully and with fraudulent intent to deprive the labor union of its money, documents said.

When interviewed by federal labor investigators, Richard voluntarily admitted that he took $40,049 between January 2015 and October 2015, and converted it to his own use.

Richard said he “knew that his actions were unlawful.”

The embezzlement became a federal crime because the union engages in an industry affecting interstate commerce and was subject to the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors said they will not bring additional charges against Richard for his illegal conduct unless he violates the agreement before sentencing.

Richard faces up to five years in federal prison.

He will be on supervision for three years after he is released. During that time, he will have to give copies of federal income tax returns to probation officers and allow credit checks, participate in financial counseling and a life skills program, and avoid debt or opening a new line of credit, court documents said.

Richard still owes $30,649 in restitution, including $10,000 for an insurance claim. He will have to pay it off within three years, documents said.

This story was originally published December 25, 2017 at 3:00 PM with the headline "This official stole $40,000 from a Wallula paper mill union."