:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/03-01-2021/t_c231350b3bfc4fbabe7dcd71c6ff2a9b_name_Fiat_Chrysler_Peugeot_Merger "Fiat Chrysler pleads guilty in case of corruption")
DETROIT – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, now part of Stellantis, has pleaded guilty to a long-standing corruption investigation.
Company representatives donated more than $ 3.5 million in cash and other things of value to top United Auto Workers employees, federal prosecutors in Detroit said as they accused the FCA of conspiracy from 2009 to 2016.
The FCA agreed to federal oversight for the next three years. There will be a federal monitor ensuring that there are no undue payments to the UAW going forward.
READING: Fiat Chrysler agrees to plead guilty, pay $ 30 million in UAW investigation
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By Ed White with the Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) – U.S. automaker FCA pleaded guilty to conspiracy on Monday, admitting that it paid United Auto Workers leaders to try to win concessions in negotiations involving thousands of factory workers.
The FCA conviction follows a series of guilty pleas from UAW employees who received more than $ 3.5 million in cash and items of value from a jointly administered training center over an eight-year period.
FCA stands for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which is now part of Stellantis, a company created by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Peugeot.
“The FCA violated federal labor laws and undermined the collective bargaining process and the faith of UAW members in their leaders,” said acting US Attorney Saima Mohsin.
FCA’s head of labor relations, Al Iacobelli, ran the scheme with five UAW employees and a spouse, especially General Holiefield, who was vice president of the union. He eliminated the $ 262,000 home mortgage in 2014 with money from the training center.
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Union employees used credit cards to spend excessively.
“Your Honor, we plead guilty,” FCA General Counsel Chris Pardi told US District Judge Paul Borman.
Lacobelli was sentenced to 5 ½ years in prison in 2018, but the sentence was recently reduced by 18 months due to his cooperation. Holiefield died in 2015; his wife pleaded guilty to tax crime three years later.
Holiefield’s successor, Norwood Jewell, was sentenced to 15 months in prison. His court settlement listed $ 60,000 in meals and golf paid for with credit cards from the training center.
The FCA will pay a $ 30 million fine to the government. An independent monitor will be appointed to supervise the completion of the training center, as well as to handle other tasks.
The government’s investigation became public in 2017, but agents soon discovered another corruption in the UAW. Union dues were used to pay for golf, liquor and vacation villas in California, and contractors gave bribes to union businesses.
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Eleven officials were convicted, including former presidents Gary Jones and Dennis Williams. They are awaiting their sentences in Detroit federal court.
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