Kansas City-based former union chief pleads guilty to racketeering conspiracy

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – The U.S. Department of Justice said a former union chief based in Kansas City, Kan. pleaded guilty to charges connected with his involvement “in serious financial misconduct at an international labor organization.”

Tyler Brown, of Kansas City, Kan. served as chief of staff of the Boilermakers Union and special assistant to the International President of the Boilermakers Union. From 2013 through October 2022, the Justice Department said Brown “reported directly to the International President and carried out his directives.”

In the near decade that he served as union chief, Brown is accused of being involved “in numerous instances of unlawful misappropriation of union funds, including:

• Purchasing merchandise and hundreds of restaurant meals for the International President and his wife in their hometown that were not necessary to conduct union business or benefit the union or its members;
• Employing several family members of international officers who received several hundred thousand dollars in salary, reimbursed expenses, unearned vacations, and benefit contributions for minimal or no productive work; and
• Paying for dozens of international trips to Europe, Asia, and Australia for large entourages of international officers and employees of the Boilermakers Union, their families, and outside guests whose travel was not necessary to conduct union business or benefit the union or its members.

Sentencing in the case against Brown is set for Aug. 22. The Justice Department said he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

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