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Norman Jewell, who was UAW president until a sudden retirement early this year, traveled, golfed, dined and partied extravagantly with money diverted from member dues and a worker training fund, court filings suggest.
Details are distilled by Robert Snell of The Detroit News in his latest look at a series of federal cases involving the union and Fiat Chrysler:
Jewell tapped a training fund to pay for more than $10,000 worth of golf resort accommodations in Palm Springs, Calif., and Disney World tickets, a spending spree that is the focus of an ongoing federal corruption investigation, sources told The Detroit News.
The Palm Springs discovery is part of a broader focus on how UAW officials spent training funds from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and member dues on condominiums, liquor, extravagant meals and golf in the desert oasis. UAW officials spent almost $1 million in member dues from 2014 to 2016 in Palm Springs, where Gary Jones held annual conferences before becoming president in June.
The Palm Springs and theme park expenses are described by sources as examples of illegal benefits flowing to UAW officials during a years-long conspiracy to violate federal labor laws. The conspiracy involved Fiat Chrysler executives funneling cash and gifts to UAW officials in hopes of swaying contract negotiations and keeping labor leaders "fat, dumb and happy," according to the government.
Jewell, 61, hasn't been charged with a crime. He abruptly retired in January after The News linked him to the investigation and FBI agents searched his Davison home.
Snell's richly detailed article, which runs 1,400 words, says four sources identify Jewell as the person called "UAW-3" repeatedly in hundreds of pages of criminal filings by Justice Department prosecutors. He allegedly "received approximately $50,000 worth of lavish gifts and benefits from Fiat Chrysler executives," the investigative journalist writes.
The gifts include an Italian shotgun [that cost $2,182] and a $30,000 party that featured strolling models who lit labor leaders' cigars, all paid for with Fiat Chrysler cash that was supposed to be spent training blue-collar workers. . . .
Jewell, who has not been charged with a crime. Jewell, 61, of Davison, abruptly retired in January after The News linked him to the investigation and his home was searched by federal agents.
The men and women he represented about $670 to $1,600 in dues annually, depending on their hourly wage.
