The probe has roiled the UAW and exposed brazen entitlement among union elite. The union has agreed to have an independent monitor watch its finances, and members might get an opportunity to elect future presidents rather than leave the job to delegates at a convention.
Williams, 68, pleaded guilty to an embezzlement scheme that turned union dues into a pot of cash for golf, lodging and fancy meals.
He symbolized an “upside down version of solidarity: Once I get to the top I'll get mine by taking yours,” Assistant
U.S. District Judge
Williams acknowledged that he had undermined his life's work, but he also placed blame on his successor and golf pal,
“What I did was wrong,” Williams said, pausing at times to control his emotions. “I paid back every last cent to the UAW in restitution, plus back taxes. But that alone can’t fix it. ... My reputation is forever tarnished, and I am exiled from the UAW community.”
While railing against excesses in corporate America, Williams was ordering fine meals, sipping champagne and lighting big cigars in vacation villas, all while scheming to cover it up, prosecutors said.
“His abuses of power have created a stain on the union that will take years to wash away," Cares said.
Williams’ lawyers said he has repaid
Eleven union officials and a late official’s spouse have pleaded guilty since 2017, although not all the crimes were connected. The first wave of convictions, which included some
Before Williams was charged, the UAW last year said it sold a lakeside home that was built for him on union property in northern
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