Labor leader stole thousands from his CA union, spent it on luxury travel, feds say
A former labor leader is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from his California union and spending it on luxury travel and retail purchases, prosecutors said.
Felix Luciano, 60, was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of wire fraud and making false statements in San Diego on Friday, Sept. 23, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California said in a news release.
An attorney for Luciano did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on Monday, Sept. 26.
Luciano was an Enforcement and Removal Operations officer for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He was also the president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 2805, prosecutors said.
He was in charge of the union that represents ICE workers in San Diego and Imperial counties, prosecutors said.
From 2013 to 2019, Luciano is accused of stealing money from the union and using it on luxury travel, payments to his credit card, groceries, dining, his wife’s business and on a custom gun safe, prosecutors said in the release.
He stole the money by using the union’s debit and credit cards, as well as by writing checks to himself, the release said.
He is accused of filing annual financial reports with false information, including how much money the union disbursed to him, prosecutors said.
In the 2017 report, he said the union disbursed $3,068 to him, but he actually received over $20,000, prosecutors said.
“When employees pay their hard-earned money into labor unions, they reasonably expect the officers of those organizations to be honest stewards of their dues,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said in the release. “Our office will work diligently to pursue justice against offenders who have allegedly stolen from their own unions at the expense of members.”
Luciano’s next court hearing is on Oct. 3.
This story was originally published September 26, 2022 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Labor leader stole thousands from his CA union, spent it on luxury travel, feds say."
