Former Fiat Labor Negotiator Pleads Not Guilty to Charges of Misusing Funds
August 01 2017 - 3:18PM
Dow Jones News
By Christina Rogers
A former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV executive pleaded not
guilty Tuesday to charges of making illegal payments to United Auto
Worker officials, part of a continuing federal investigation into
suspected misuse of funds meant for autoworker training.
Alphons Iacobelli, 57, a former head of labor relations at Fiat
Chrysler, was indicted last week by a federal grand jury for
allegedly steering $1.2 million in payments and gifts to deceased
UAW Vice President General Holiefield, his wife and other UAW
officials.
Federal prosecutors also charged Mr. Iacobelli with pocketing
more than $1 million from company-funded accounts set up by the
UAW-Chrysler National Training center, allegedly making purchases
that included a $350,000 Ferrari and gold Mont Blanc pens costing
$37,500 each, according to court filings.
Mr. Iacobelli, who was released on $10,000 bond, declined to
comment.
A Fiat Chrysler employee, Jerome Durden, was also charged last
week for conspiring to obstruct the government's investigation and
conceal millions of dollars in illicit payments. He will be
arraigned Friday.
Monica Morgan, Mr. Holiefield's wife, pleaded not guilty Monday
to conspiracy charges. Mr. Holiefield, a top UAW official who led
bargaining with Fiat Chrysler, died in 2015, a year after retiring
from the union.
Ms. Morgan's lawyer hasn't responded to requests for
comment.
During his time at Fiat Chrysler, Mr. Iacobelli was the
company's top labor negotiator, often sitting across the bargaining
table from Mr. Holiefield to negotiate contracts for tens of
thousands of autoworkers.
He left Fiat Chrysler abruptly in 2015, a month before
negotiations for a new four-year contract with the union began, but
was hired by GM in 2016 as an executive director of labor
relations. A GM spokesman declined to say whether Mr. Iacobelli is
still employed with the company.
The indictments come at a sensitive time for the UAW, which is
in the midst of an organizing drive at Nissan's Motor Co.'s massive
auto plant in Mississippi. A unionization vote is planned Thursday
and Friday to determine whether there is enough support among
factory workers for UAW representation.
Fiat Chrysler also has come under federal scrutiny in recent
years for its sales reporting and alleged emissions violations
involving its diesel engines.
Write to Christina Rogers at christina.rogers@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 01, 2017 16:03 ET (20:03 GMT)
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