PITTSBURGH Butler man pleads guilty to stealing from labor union

Authorities believe he stole more than $50,000.
PITTSBURGH -- John L. Dorrier Jr. of Butler admitted in federal court that he stole more than $14,000 from the labor union he worked for.
He pleaded guilty to embezzlement from a labor union; making, uttering and possessing a forged security; and corruptly interfering with the administration of the Internal Revenue law.
Dorrier pleaded guilty to three counts before Senior U.S. District Judge William L. Standish. In connection with the guilty plea, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Hull advised the court that Dorrier was a business agent for Operating Engineers Local Union 66 through November 1998.
Dorrier falsified 976 picket expense vouchers by completing them in the names of union members and others who had not provided any picket services, Hull said. Dorrier's vouchers caused the union to issue 949 picket payment checks in the false names, and Dorrier picked up those checks in person, he said. He is alleged to have forged and cashed the checks and allegedly paid relatives and friends who had provided some picket services with payments in cash.
Admission
He admitted in court that he converted to his own use some $14,400 in union funds in this manner from Aug. 8, 1997, to November 1998.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Brysh said Dorrier is alleged to have taken more than $50,000 from 1992 to 1998, but the five-year statute of limitations prevented prosecutors from filing additional charges.
Dorrier, however, agreed to pay a total of $56,195, the amount officials believe he took from 1992 to 1998, in restitution, Brysh said.
He will be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 20. The law provides for a total sentence of 18 years in prison, a fine of $750,000, or both. Dorrier is free on bond pending sentencing.