New York Report: Suffolk Union Abused Credit Cards

Newsday reports:

n a scathing report, the state's Commission of Investigation Thursday blasted the union representing Suffolk County corrections officers for "highly questionable" accounting practices, including spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on things like airline tickets for members' relatives, big-screen televisions, and golf outings to union accounts.

"Receipts were the exception, not the rule," said the 19-page report, obtained by Newsday. It followed a two-year commission investigation that was spurred by an anonymous tip from a member of the Suffolk Correction Officers Association. The investigation included interviews with union members and the union's financial consultant, and it closely examined all credit card expenses, bank records, cash advances from January 2000 to October 2006.

What the commission uncovered was "highly dubious accounting practices by these union officials," commission chairman Alfred Lerner said in a statement. "Without proper accounting for these funds, the appearance of misuse and impropriety is unavoidable. [Union] officials have a lot of work to do to restore confidence in how they are spending union dues."