March 7, 2024
LANSING — In a four-year span, a local Post Office employee received pay for both his day job and work for his union 14 times, an investigator testified recently.

That double dipping, plus 17 other instances when John Greathouse received union pay that he should not have, Kimberly Sellers testified, netted him about $7,400 and led to a criminal charge.

Sellers, an investigator with the U.S. Department of Labor, was the first witness called during Greathouse’s preliminary hearing on Feb. 29.

Greathouse, 61, is charged with false pretenses with intent to defraud between $1,000 and $19,999. He faces up to five years in prison and a fine that could exceed $20,000 if convicted.

Sellers testified that Greathouse, who had decades of time in the Post Office, took paid leave from work, but would then submit vouchers to the union that are meant to reimburse union officers who take unpaid time off to attend to union business.

Bobby Ficklin, Greathouse’s defense attorney, argued during a preliminary hearing last month that prosecutors had not done enough to prove that his client knowingly defrauded the union.

“I don’t feel he would risk his integrity, his reputation and his legacy at the Post Office, being that he is retiring soon, (that) he would risk that for $7,400 when he’s amassed over $2 million in his salary since he’s worked there for 35 years,” he said when asking the judge to dismiss the case.

Ficklin told the State Journal that federal prosecutors declined to charge Greathouse before Sellers sent the case to Ingham County prosecutors. He added it’s a “convoluted case” involving federal policies and state law.

Maceo Cosper, president of the Central Michigan Area Local 300 union Greathouse is charged with defrauding, said in a statement that: “Our union is deeply concerned about the criminal charges against John Greathouse. We emphasize our commitment to transparency, accountability, and the well-being of our members. We have been cooperating fully with the Department of Labor and will take appropriate action as more information emerges.”

Sellers also testified that Greathouse kept a log of union work he did on his personal time, and would then file for reimbursement from the union later, a practice he was told wasn’t allowed.

Sellers told 54A District Court Judge Kristen Simmons during the hearing that her investigation started after a tip from “a concerned member from the labor union.”

At the end of a preliminary hearing, Simmons ruled that prosecutors had met their burden of proof at this stage. She order the case move to Ingham County Circuit Court, where Greathouse could stand trial.

Contact reporter Matt Mencarini at 517-377-1026 or mjmencarini@lsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Post Office worker charged with defrauding his Lansing union