By Brian Hews and Brian Hews
Hews Media Group-Community Newspaper has published nearly 300 pages of a lawsuit that details how members of Local 12 of the International Union of Operating Engineers deliberately misused member funds and resources for the personal gain of its longtime leader William Waggoner, his wife, son, and several other union leaders inside the powerful organization.
The rarely used Fourth Amendment Class Action Complaint was filed in early January of this year and obtained by HMG-CN.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dean Pregerson will be hearing the case later next month.
Included in the lawsuit are five pages of detailed evidence claiming that former United States Labor Secretary Hilda Solis was given transportation on IUOE Local 12′s Cessna Citation XL Jet and that Solis failed to report the in-kind gift to the Federal Election Commission as required under law.
A spokesperson for Solis, who is now running for a seat on the powerful Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors denied the allegations.
Steve Barkan, a political campaign consultant for Solis issued a statement to HMG-CN that said: “Hilda did not fly on their plane for confirmations hearings, and she did not fly on their plane between El Monte and Ontario. Your sources are incorrect.”
Below is the entire lawsuit:
Now it gets interesting, is this fund the same fund that the LA DWP was/is funding and is refusing to disclose spending to city officials?
Or is this a different union slush fund?