ST. LOUIS — The president of a St. Louis postal union was indicted Wednesday and accused of embezzling about $80,000.
Scott E. Rodgers, president of Postal Mail Handlers Local 314 since October 2016, was indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on a felony charge of embezzlement from a labor union, according to an indictment made public Thursday. Rodgers had access to the union bank account and a debit card, the indictment says.
Rodgers made four unauthorized ATM withdrawals and used the union debit card for unauthorized personal purchases including meals, fuel, transportation, travel and lodging, the indictment says. He also claimed “lost time payments,” falsely saying he was doing union business when he was not, according to the indictment.
Rodgers could not be reached for comment Thursday and no lawyer is listed for him in online court records. The union’s telephone number did not work.
The union’s former treasurer, Yvette Luster, was indicted on the same charge in October and accused of stealing $184,000.
From January 2016 to April 2020, Luster made about 203 unauthorized ATM withdrawals, used the debit card for unauthorized purchases including flights and meals for herself and family members, wrote unauthorized checks to herself and received unearned lost time payments, her indictment says.
She has pleaded not guilty. Her lawyer declined comment Thursday.
The union represented 465 mail handlers in 2019, the indictment says.
Source: stltoday.com