Former Carpenters Union bookkeeper sentenced

A former bookkeeper of a Southern Nevada union was sentenced on March 23 for stealing. Judge James Mahan, U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, sentenced Kay Joy Andrews, 57, of Whittier, Calif., to six months of home confinement and five years probation. He also ordered Andrews to pay $40,087 restitution.

Andrews was charged nearly a year ago with embezzling funds from Carpenters Local 1780 in Las Vegas, which represents more than 800 workers in Southern Nevada. She pleaded guilty September 29, 2006, to taking cash and checks that were supposed to have been deposited to the union’s account between September 9, 2002, and July 31, 2003.

An employee of the Carpenters Southwest Regional Council, Andrews was assigned as the sole bookkeeper for Carpenters Local 1780. She was responsible for collecting member dues, maintaining dues receipt records and depositing the dues to the union’s bank accounts. The union’s accountant discovered the theft when conducting an annual audit. The union terminated Andrews’ employment on September 2, 2003.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) and the department’s Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations within the Office of Inspector General investigated the case. And Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Brown tried the case.