A Whiteside County man has been sentenced to a federal prison term for embezzling from a labor organization.
BRENT TOPPERT, 43, of Morrison, Ill., was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston to five months in federal prison, to be followed by six months of home detention. Toppert was also fined $5,000.
Toppert was the elected Financial Secretary-Treasurer of Local 238 of the Security, Police, and Fire Professionals of America, a labor organization that represents members who provide security at a nuclear plant in Cordova, Ill. Toppert pleaded guilty in federal court earlier this year and admitted that from 2013 to 2018 he made several unauthorized withdrawals from SPFPA’s bank account, totaling $55,140.98, which he converted to his personal use.
The sentence was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Thomas Murray, District Director, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Love and Vincenza Tomlinson.
“While the vast majority of union officials do their work diligently and without incident, unfortunately criminal violations do occur,” said District Director Murray. “When they do, it is the union and its members that are the victims.
Brent Toppert embezzled over $55,000 from SPFPA Local 238 that should have been used for its members’ benefit. OLMS is committed to holding accountable anyone who unlawfully exploits their position for financial gain at the expense of their fellow union members.”
