BARSTOW, Calif. -- A former official of the Barstow chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union awaits trial on charges that he embezzled more than $93,000 in union funds over a four-year period, The Desert Dispatch reported.
James L. Miles, 69, of Barstow, pleaded not guilty Feb. 3 to one count of embezzling union funds, nine counts of mail fraud and two counts of making false statement to the United States Department of Labor, according to Charles Pell, assistant U.S. Attorney for the Riverside division. Miles' pretrial conference is scheduled for 9 a.m. March 22. His jury trial is set for March 30 at the Riverside Federal Courthouse. A federal grand jury indicted him on Jan. 13.
Miles served as financial secretary or treasurer for IBEW Union Local 1023, which represents about 180 Barstow employees of Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad. According to the grand jury indictment, Miles allegedly issued and signed more than 350 checks to pay his personal expenses without knowledge of the Local's members or executive board. The indictment alleges that Miles embezzled a total of $93,273 from Jan. 2003 to June 2007. Miles also allegedly filed false federal and state tax returns on behalf of himself and the union.
Pell said Miles was summonsed to his arraignment, where he pled not guilty. If he is convicted of all 12 counts, he could face a statutory maximum sentence of 187 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorneys office.
Gilbert Duran, Local 1023 president, said he testified before the grand jury in January. He didn't comment further Tuesday, saying he wanted to discuss the matter with Pell first.
Miles' attorney, Stanley Hodge, was in court most of the day Tuesday and couldn't be reached.
(The preceding article was published February 10, 2010, by The Desert Dispatch.)
