:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/03-01-2021/t_c231350b3bfc4fbabe7dcd71c6ff2a9b_name_Fiat_Chrysler_Peugeot_Merger)
DETROIT Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, now part of Stellantis, has pleaded guilt in a long-term corruption investigation.
Company representatives gave more than $ 3.5 million in cash and other things of value to senior officials at the United Auto Workers, Detroit federal prosecutors said when they charged FCA with conspiracy from 2009 to 2016.
FCA has agreed to federal oversight for the next three years. There will be a federal monitor to ensure that improper payments to UAW are not made in the future.
READ: Fiat Chrysler agrees to plead guilty, pay $ 30 million in UAW probe
Advertisement
By Ed White of the Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) – Automaker FCA US pleaded guilty to conspiracy on Monday, admitting it rewarded United Auto Workers leaders for trying to win concessions in negotiations with thousands of factory workers.
FCA’s conviction follows a series of guilty pleas from UAW officials who were overloaded with more than $ 3.5 million in cash and valuable items from a jointly managed training center over an eight-year period.
FCA stands for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which is now part of Stellantis, a company created by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Peugeot.
“FCA violated federal labor laws and undermined the collective bargaining process and the UAW membership belief in their leaders,” said US acting lawyer Saima Mohsin.
FCA labor relations head Al Iacobelli carried out the plan with five UAW officials and a spouse, most notably General Holiefield, who was the union’s vice president. He abolished a $ 262,000 home mortgage in 2014 with money from a training center.
Advertisement
Union officials used credit cards to spend money.
“Your Honor, we plead guilty,” FCA counsel Chris Pardi told US District Judge Paul Borman.
Lacobelli was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison in 2018, but the sentence was recently reduced by 18 months for his cooperation. Holiefield died in 2015; his wife pleaded guilty to a tax crime three years later.
Holiefield’s successor, Norwood Jewell, was sentenced to 15 months in prison. His plea deal mentioned $ 60,000 in meals and golf, paid with training center credit cards.
FCA will pay the government a $ 30 million fine. An independent monitor will be appointed to oversee the end of the training center and to perform other duties.
The government’s investigation went public in 2017, but agents soon uncovered other corruption at the UAW. Union rights were used to pay for golf, booze, and California vacation rentals, and contractors gave bribes for union affairs.
Advertisement
Eleven officials have been convicted, including former Presidents Gary Jones and Dennis Williams. They are awaiting their sentence in Detroit federal court.
Copyright 2021 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.