by Allan Lengel Ex-UAW President Dennis Williams An apologetic ex-United Auto Workers President Dennis Williams was sentenced Tuesday in Detroit to 21 months in prison for embezzling hundreds of thousands dollars from the union for lavish entertainment and personal expenses at conferences. He was also fined $10,000. He reinforced the upside down version of solidarity: Once I get to the top I ll get mine by taking yours , said Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Cares at the virtual sentencing before U.S. District Judge Paul Borman. The sentencing marked another stain on a proud union founded in 1935. The sentence comes one month before co-defendant, ex-UAW President Doug Jones, is set to be sentenced on June 8.
Dennis Williams, who turns 68 next week, tried to portray himself as a reluctant participant.
May 4th, 2021
In a Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017, file photo, then-United Auto Workers president Dennis Williams speaks during a roundtable with reporters in Detroit. Prosecutors are seeking a two-year prison sentence for Williams, a former president of the United Auto Workers who they say had two lives as a leader of a blue-collar union and a connoisseur of premium champagne and California vacation villas paid for with members dues the U.S. attorney s office said in a court filing Monday, May 3, 2021.
AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File
DETROIT (AP) Prosecutors are seeking a two-year prison sentence for a former president of the United Auto Workers who they say had “two lives as a leader of a blue-collar union and as a connoisseur of premium champagne and California vacation villas paid for with members dues.
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Detroit Retired United Auto Workers President Dennis Williams should not spend more than one year and a day in federal prison for stealing from union members because he is an American success story, is charitable and has health problems, his lawyers argued late Monday.
The attorneys pushed back against the government s request that Williams, 67, one of two former presidents convicted in a years-long investigation into corruption within the U.S. auto industry, spend two years in federal prison for helping push one of the nation s most influential unions into prolonged government oversight.
In a sentencing memorandum, however, Williams continued blaming underlings, including his successor, former President Gary Jones, for conspiring to embezzle more than $1 million in union money. The funds were spent on personal luxuries, including private villas for months at a time for Williams, booze for his wife, lavish meals and more than $60,000 in cigars and humidors.
Government seeks 2-year prison sentence for ex-UAW leader
ED WHITE, Associated Press
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FILE - In a Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017, file photo, then-United Auto Workers president Dennis Williams speaks during a roundtable with reporters in Detroit. Prosecutors are seeking a two-year prison sentence for Williams, a former president of the United Auto Workers who they say had two lives as a leader of a blue-collar union and a connoisseur of premium champagne and California vacation villas paid for with members dues the U.S. attorney s office said in a court filing Monday, May 3, 2021.Paul Sancya/AP
DETROIT (AP) Prosecutors are seeking a two-year prison sentence for a former president of the United Auto Workers who they say had “two lives as a leader of a blue-collar union and as a connoisseur of premium champagne and California vacation villas paid for with members dues.
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