Plundering 'for the children' (Michelle Malkin)

Malkin ping

Matthew 16
24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

This is shameful. Just wondering what in the world this woman does with all those clothes. Who in a lifetime could wear all of them? Does she have an eBay account for resaling the merchandise?

Methinks the math is a bit suspect. I would believe $70.00 per month, but $700? Or, perhaps $700 per year.

FBI Releases List Of Seized Items

LISTS OF ITEMS
Main Story

Items Seized From Barbara Bullock's Home

288 piece Tiffany Silverware
Trotter 535 treadmill
William Tolliver artwork, semi-nude female
Five William Yeoward Glasses
13 William Yeoward Glasses, One William Yeoward bowl
Mink hat, no identifying marks
Baccarat vase with spiral steps on side
Crystal punch bowl
Two bronze candelabras
Onkyo 6-disc CD changer, model DX-C540, with remote
Onkyo receiver, model TX-8410, with remote
Business cards, receipts for return to Nordstorm's of St. John
Washington Teachers' Union credit card for Office Depot
Three fur coats: 1) Rosendorf Evans, 2) Sitka, 3) Miller's furs mahogany bomber
Royal crown derby English bone china set
Four Fendi handbags
Two Judith Lieber handbags; two Kielstein Cord handbags
One Gucci, two Dolce Gabena, one Bally, one Ferragamo, one Kielstein Cord handbag(s)
Two Saint Louis wine glasses
William Yeoman crystal: Six wine glasses with grape pattern
William Yeoman crystal "Bowl with Plate"
Two serving spoons; set of four hotel silver napkin rings
Two Chanel handbags
Three Fendi, one Louis Vuitton, one Dolce, two Kielstein handbags
One Kleinberg & Sherrill, one Escala, one Kate Spade, one Bally handbag
Large serving plate
Serving Bowl
Herend brand serving plate
Herend brand bowl with top
St. John's collection clothing
Herend brand vase
Twelve fishbone Herend plates
Red folder containing WTU correspondence, two blue folders with WTU membership info
Photographs including paintings, sculptures, six place settings
Four Yves Delorme bath towels and three wash cloths
Copy of lease from 1974 for 1221 Massachusetts #1021
Two Nordstrom scarves
St. John's collection clothing
Eleven boxes of shoes: Three Bruno Magli, Eight Salvatore Ferragamo
Myong Lim clothing and one Eskandar article
Large butterfly pin
Box of St. John clothing
Tiffany white pearl necklace
Myong Lim clothing
Saint Louis goblets (two) in a box
William Yeoward - six glasses in a box
Dolce & Gabbana handbag
18K gold elephant pin
9mm white baroque pearl necklace and 8 1/2 mm gray baroque necklace, both from tiny jewel box
Labradorite necklace
Myong Lim clothing
Fax transmitted to WTU containing a resume
Jeweled Christmas tree broach from Neiman Marcus
Chanel scarf
St. John collection clothing outfit
Two Sun Trust bank registers
Myong Lim & St. John's clothing
Box - Myong Lim & St. John's clothing
Seven pair Salvatore Ferragamo and two pair Bruno Magli shoes
One Fendi handbag
Buccellati silver smiths anti-tarnish bag
Silver and gold Tiffany ring
Chanel earrings
One St. John, one Nordstrom, two Amalfi, two Via Spiga, two Bruno Magli, two Salvatore Ferragamo pairs of shoes
Ramee Art - African art - watercolor of two ladies
Eight English plates with green border, flower in the middle
Silver Tiffany ring
Chanel necklace
Flower table settings
Herend vase
Four egg-shaped table settings
Tolliver print
Two small leaf-shaped plates, Herend brand
Herend bowl
Herend brand salad dish
Five William Yeoward brand flute glasses
Tree-shaped Herend brand bowl
Six Herend tea cups
Herend brand large serving plate
Gray Herend bowl
Eight small Herend plates
Herend brand teapot with lid
Six tea plates
Ten Herend plates
Check book duplicates
Check book Duplicates
Bank statements and check book duplicates
Two Donald Pilner, one Stuart Weitzman, one Bruno Magli, seven Salvatore Ferragamo pairs of shoes
William Yeoward glasses
Tax returns, receipts, invoices
Herend brand serving plate/bowl set
Six Herend brand plates
Notes and list of contributions
Silver Tiffany watch
William Yeoward glassware
Three St. Louis wine glasses
Tax documents
Nine wigs
Check book duplicates and receipt
Chanel handbag
Apartment notice of rent increase
Tax documentation
Sun Trust bank account statements
Invoices and receipts
Two boxes Chanel designer handbags
Four Chanel handbags
One Chanel handbag
Day planner
Joseph Holston Jr. "Function at the Junction," Ramee Art Gallery
Six William Yeoman Plates
Shoes bearing Nordsrom price tags
Painting from Ramee Art Gallery, log #034, "Child Playing Guitar"
Notepad with AFT notes, transaction information, Sun Trust deposit receipt
Receipt from William Tolliver's Art Gallery & certificate of authenticity
2001 W-2, SSA correspondence, North Carolina deed of trust, Receipts, TWU Constitution and by-laws
Two brown wigs
Herend brand large serving dish in Neiman Marcus box
Joseph Holston Jr. "The Art Show," Ramee Art Gallery
Bose subwoofer
Four Bose speakers
Myong Lim clothing
Herend red elephant
Herend green rabbit
Herend blue ducks
Herend green fruit dish
Palm Vx
Three pairs of shoes: one Sperry, one Bruno Magli, one Stuart Weitzman
Mayor Anthony Williams stamp
Receipt from Nordstrom; price tag from Neiman Marcus
-- One double Barrel shotgun

Items Seized From Gwen Hemphill's Home

Phone numbers, notebook with references to investigation, postal receipt
Orchard Bank Master Card receipt, loan application, Home Depot receipt
Bank statements, credit card receipts
Onkyo CD changer, cassette player and receiver
Burlwood writing desk
Business cards, credit cards and receipts
Low tag list (veh. Ownership), fax with Erika Bullock's Clark name, Charles Schwab statements, phone list, list of contributors
RCA warranty, Pentagon Federal Credit Union loan correspondence
desk pad
folder with Business Inc., sales receipts, disks, fax journal and documents
Articles of incorporation of GLT, Inc., corporate records book of GLT, Inc.
Verizon bill - WTU, misc. business cards
box of misc. receipts
notebook full of Charles Schwab account information
Louis Vuitton handbag
WTU related documents, bills, invoices (FedEX, Bell Atlantic, etc.)

receipts, business cards, memo regarding WTU Staff Retirement Plan, WTU mailing list, advertising book: Louis Vuitton
Tolliver Artwork - "Picking Cotton"
misc. business cards, phone numbers, check duplicates, receipts, misc.
William Tolliver Painting - "Sunday Service"
Three bronze candle holders, labeled "a teleflower gift"
Large silver candle holder from Restoration Hardwood
videotape labeled "My Alaskan Vacation 2001"
various receipts
Tombolini Wool Suit
Artwork - Ramee Art Gallery, "Nassau Buggy"
Artwork - Ramee Art Gallery, "Just the Two of Us"
Artwork - Ramee Art Gallery, "Bus Stop"
Artwork - Ramee Art Gallery, "Symphonic Strings"
Artwork - Ramee Art Gallery, "Night Dreamin'"
Artwork - Ramee Art Gallery, "Rythmic Blues"
receipts, invoices (including receipts for electronic items seized in item 35)
Onkyo receiver
Sony Hi-Fi VCR Plus, Onkyo Dual Cassette player (refer to receipts in item 33)
LARGE plasma flat screen Panasonic TV, connecting bracket, 4 screws and washers
Herend Brand China
Two Rolodex card files
Two more Rolodex card files
WTU phone lists, vendor phone list, misc. statements and bills
fur coat
business cards
Ramee Art Gallery documentation
IRS correspondence, misc. statements, receipts, Burbach catalog, notebook with phone numbers, appraisal for fur coat and diamond bracelet, WTU Staff Retirement plan
Two Bose speakers on stands
Bose speakers
Electronic organizer
various check registers, address book, invoices, receipts, bills, Western Union receipt, $2000 donation receipt, request for credit report, Charles Schwab statements, WTU Roster, various bank statements from AB, Capitol One
Large Bose speaker
Mobe Pearl earrings
Artwork - Ramee Art Gallery, "Ladies Holding Plates"
Artwork - Ramee Art Gallery, "Sheer Essence II"
Laptop computer and case
misc. receipts, canceled checks, receipt/appraisal for fur coat, paychecks, appointment book for 2001, misc. notes with phone numbers
AT&T telephone bill, unsigned WTU check to Verizon Wireless in the amount of $5795.83
Business cards and receipts
Notepad containing misc. WTU information
Misc. receipts, paycheck stubs, misc. bank/checking account information
address/phone list and roster
Three Dooney and Bourke purses
Two Chanel purses, 1 Louis Vuitton purse
Misc. credit card statements, WTU statements, bank statements, Employee W2 statement
22 INCH Mikhail Darafeev barstool with padded seat
22 INCH Mikhail Darafeev barstool with padded seat
22 INCH Mikhail Darafeev barstool with padded seat
22 INCH Mikhail Darafeev barstool with padded seat
Four two-piece St. John Ladies Suits
Four more two-piece St. John Ladies Suits
Three more two-piece St. John Ladies Suits
Mink fur hat
Onkyo 6 CD changer
1 St. John Ladies 3 piece suit, 3 single pieces
WTU check to FedEX
WTU correspondence, day planner
registration, sales invoice, repair invoices
checkbooks, receipts, invoices, bills
two Bose speakers on stands
misc. records, bank records, canceled checks, tax docs, SS statements, WTU payroll journals
WTU mail, containing bills, invoices, payroll statements, etc.
Painting - William Tolliver "Woman with Wine Glass"
vehicle repair documents, notebook with phone numbers
bank records, receipts
WTU credit card statements, Ramee Gallery invoices
receipts for Teachers Union, bills, notebook with names and telephone numbers
receipts
Versace leather belt
Artwork - Ramee Art Gallery - Ballerina
Artwork - Ramee Art Gallery - Ballerina bending over
Artwork - Ramee Art Gallery - "The 3 R's"
Artwork - Ramee Art Gallery - "Concentration"
Artwork - Ramee Art Gallery
envelope with writing on it, including references to "Amalgamated"
receipts, statements, WTU correspondence, check stubs, WTU bank statements, vouchers, bag of receipts
Bank statements, credit cards, receipts, business cards
receipts and bank statements
investment receipts, contact list
resignation letter, bank statement
bank records
shredded paper from shredder basket
Computer CPU, keyboard
Flatscreen computer monitor, cords
Computer printer
Onkyo DVD player (see receipt)
Artwork, Ramee Art Gallery
Denon audio/video receiver
JVC DVD Player
Panasonic VCR
JVC remote control
Panasonic remote control
Three remote controls to items seized from entertainment center
Large pearl necklace, Continental Jeweler's case
Bank Records
Receipts, canceled checks, bank statements
receipts, invoices, name/phone lists
Accordion file with receipts, including receipts for Teachers' Union media equipment
Dress - Yolana Loreme
Four Bose speakers
AMEX summary of accounts
strand of pearls, white
remote control for plasma screen TV and bolts
Safe deposit box keys, box 1592
American Express corporate credit card (WTU)

Teachers Union Takes Out Loan (washingtonpost.com)

FBI Releases List Of Seized Items

Lots of Bose speakers. Well, there's no accounting for taste.

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January 8, 2003, Teachers union inquiry goes on, By Brian DeBose, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Mr. Martin is the son-in-law of Gwendolyn M. Hemphill, former union executive assistant to the president and Miss Clark is the sister of former union president Barbara A. Bullock. All five persons are the focus of the joint investigation by the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service, the Labor Department and the D.C. inspector general.

SNIP

The affidavit said that Mr. Martin, who is married to Mrs. Hemphill's daughter Cheryl, received more than $100,000 from the union for work he did under his business "Expression Unlimited" for Miss Bullock.

But FBI Special Agent Katherine L. Andrews said in her affidavit that she discovered no work was ever done.

Mr. Baxter is said to have written several union checks to himself totaling in the thousands of dollars. He also faces charges he incorrectly filed his tax returns and failed to file documents to the Labor Department for numerous dinners and nightclub visits presumably on official business.

SNIP

"Witnesses have advised us that large sums of money from WTU's checking account were converted to cash by [Miss] Bullock's driver, Leroy Holmes," said Agent Andrews in her affidavit. "Those funds were deposited in a joint account held by Miss Bullock and Miss Clark."

In addition to their union offices, Baxter served as the labor relations and collective bargaining director for both Mayor Anthony A. Williams and former mayor Marion Barry, and Hemphill served as both vice president of the D.C. Democratic Party and co-chairman of the Williams re-election campaign. They were all forced from office by their national union, the American Federation of Teachers, under union bylaws.

Bullock, a staunch supporter of Mayor Williams, has been praised by teachers for winning a landmark 19 percent pay increase over three years, making D.C. teachers' wages more competitive with surrounding jurisdictions. But Williams reneged on finding additional money to cover the pay raise and instead took the first year's $15 million out of the school system's overburdened operating and capital budgets. That led to cuts in classroom resources, and delayed construction and renovations for some crumbling public schools.

Bullock also has been criticized by teachers for her cronyism and practice of "the end justifies the means" school of politics. She was legendary for "ruling by her own rules." Her supporters outnumbered her detractors in her early tenure but in recent years the voices of her opponents became louder. Now with the U.S. Attorney's Office investigating myriad financial irregularities, including millions of dollars of questionable credit card charges and unauthorized outlays, she has come to an ignominious end. It is this culture of corruption, which has plagued the union for years, that now has many teachers asking how nearly $3 million has gone missing.

Some of Bullock's supporters say a dues overcharge of about $800,000 must just be a "bookkeeping mistake." Critics say the overcharges were intentional on the part of the union. However, they all agree that the WTU was in arrears in paying its dues to the national organization and would have been barred from attending the national convention last summer unless it paid up. AFT officials would not return calls or comment because of the pending investigation. But one WTU source contends the back dues problem has been going on for years. The national union became more troubled when it discovered through an audit that "financial irregularities were rampant throughout the books." One former union employee told me the WTU under Bullock had a terrible reputation for paying its bills. So where is the money going?

Investigators now believe that much of the $2 million that disappeared from the WTU's bank accounts was used to fund the extravagant lifestyle of union president Barbara Bullock. FBI raids of Bullock's home indicate she was using union money to buy $600 alligator-skin shoes and a $25,000 mink coat to complement custom-made suits, not to mention a $13,000 television, with drinks from a $6,800 ice bucket adorned with swan heads.

Bullock has not been charged in the case. She and two other executives stepped down when auditors began tracing an extra union payment of $144 that was deducted from the salaries of 5,000 members of the WTU.

Some union employees who suspected improprieties stayed quiet for fear of losing their jobs, according to a source with knowledge of the probe.

"It's all part of the culture at the union office, but it goes deeper than Barbara Bullock," said George Parker, a teacher and union activist who unsuccessfully ran against her twice. He plans to seek the presidency again this year.

"It's a culture that is just unbelievable -- of financial secrecy, of manipulation of information," Parker said. "The problem is that everybody just let it happen."

Bullock inherited an organization rife with controversy. She took office in 1994 after members of the union ousted then-president Jimmie C. Jackson in an election run by the Labor Department. The election came under a court order because of irregularities in Jackson's 1993 reelection. Jackson was then accused of stealing dozens of items and records from the local office a day before Bullock was sworn in. A federal judge ordered Jackson to return the materials after the AFT filed suit.

according to union sources and others knowledgeable about the probe, Bullock and her friends were allowed to run the union as they saw fit.

Bullock hired and fired people at will, and though she was supposed to get approval from the executive board, she often didn't, sources said. One secretary who was fired -- a 20-year veteran -- won her job back in arbitration, but Bullock got rid of her again six months later, the sources said. When a staff member raised an objection, she was suspended for two weeks without pay, they said.

in 1996, math teacher Charles M. Bagenstose believed he improperly lost his job at Jefferson Junior High School during a staff reduction. He asked for help fighting the school system.

"Barbara Bullock refused to do it," Bagenstose said. "She said she had to protect union funds."

when it came to legitimate expenses, money went to friends and relatives of union leaders, some teachers said. Bullock hired as the union's attorney Curtis Lewis & Associates, headed by Baxter's brother. Hankerson also temporarily hired Hemphill's daughter, Cheryl Martin.

Just as the trustees didn't press for more financial information, neither did the union's executive board.

The union filed annual reports with the Labor Department, showing how its budget, now more than $3 million, was spent. The documents reveal no irregularities, and officials said they never audited the WTU's books.

I would sure love to see an audit of John Sweeney's [head of the AFofL CIO] expenses.

Regards,

LINKS OF INTEREST:

CNS NEWS.com: "TEACHERS UNION BEING PROSECUTED FOR ILLEGALLY SPENDING DUES" by Christine Hall (100702)

FOX NEWS.com: "NEA SLAPPED WITH $800,000 FINE FOR MISAPPROPRIATING UNION DUES The National Education Association is crying foul play after a Washington state judge slapped the country's largest teachers union with an $800,000 fine for failing to show up for court on charges that it was illegally spending members' dues on politics." (070302)

I think you're right. The $700 per month made my brows lift. I'll bet it's $700 per year (still a considerable amount, though).

I live in Northern Virginia and have been follwing this. Truthfully, I'm surprised that it was reported. I guess I'm getting too cynical. To say DC is a cesspool of corruption is an understatement, and to think that Williams is an order of magnitude better than Mayor Barry. BTW, even unions can't extort $700 a month from the average teacher. The grifters probably get maybe $70 a month.

Peanuts, compared to the shakedown of taxpayers for public education.