Ex-UAW chief Williams charged in corruption probe
DETROIT — Federal prosecutors on Thursday charged ex-UAW President Dennis Williams, who led one of the nation’s most powerful labor unions from 2014 to 2018, with conspiring to embezzle funds from rank-and-file workers for nearly a decade.
Court documents say Williams and others spent hundreds of thousands of member dollars on trips to Palm Springs, Calif.; golf outings; fancy dinners; and other luxuries.
Williams becomes the 15th person charged in the ongoing corruption scandal. He’s also the second former union president to be charged; his predecessor, Gary Jones, pleaded guilty to embezzlement and racketeering charges in June and awaits sentencing.
Williams was charged in a criminal information, which means he’s likely to plead guilty. He faces a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
“The charges today are further steps forward in our relentless effort to ensure that the over 400,000 men and women of the UAW have honest and ethical leadership,” U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said in a statement. “The UAW’s members deserve leaders dedicated to serving the members and their families, not serving themselves.”
Steven M. D’Antuono, special agent in charge of the Detroit field office, said in a statement that Williams “trampled on that trust and used his position and influence to advocate for his own personal benefit. Today, Williams begins to face the consequences of his choice to break that trust and fiduciary responsibility.”
Federal officials last year raided the homes of Jones, Williams and other UAW officials. Williams was reportedly handcuffed and held at gunpoint as agents searched his California home, according to The Detroit News.
The UAW earlier this month said it would stop paying Williams’ legal fees related to the federal government’s corruption probe, and in June said he had paid back more than $50,000 in travel expenses deemed “not appropriate.”
The union has also sold a northern Michigan cottage built for Williams partly with nonunion labor.
