Feds Charge Former UAW Vice President Ashton With Fraud, Money Laundering -- Update

By Nora Naughton

Federal prosecutors charged former United Auto Workers vice president and ex- General Motors Co. board member Joe Ashton with fraud and money laundering, according to court documents filed Wednesday, the latest in a yearslong criminal investigation into corruption in the union's top ranks.

Mr. Ashton, who retired from the UAW in 2014 and left the GM board in 2017, is accused of helping to orchestrate a scheme to personally enrich himself and other UAW officials by steering contracts to vendors in exchange for bribes and kickbacks, prosecutors alleged.

GM and the UAW declined to immediately comment on the charges. Mr. Ashton's attorney, Jerome A. Ballarotto of New Jersey, didn't immediately return a phone message requesting comment.

Mr. Ashton is now the 13th person charged in the Justice Department's widening criminal probe into allegations of corruption, bribery and other financial misconduct among top-ranking officials at the UAW, one of the nation's oldest unions. The investigation has potentially implicated UAW President Gary Jones, who over the weekend stepped aside to take a leave of absence. Mr. Jones hasn't been charged and his attorney said he took voluntary leave and didn't face pressure to do so.

Mr. Ashton is also the second former UAW vice president to be charged in the investigation, which first became public in 2017 and had initially focused on misuse of UAW training-center funds at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. Fiat Chrysler has said the misconduct was perpetrated by a small group of individuals acting in their own interest.

The latest charges mark another setback for the UAW leadership at a time when union officials are still trying to secure new labor contracts at Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler. The UAW late last month reached a new labor agreement with GM after a 40-day nationwide walkout.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 06, 2019 11:47 ET (16:47 GMT)

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