DETROIT _ A leading figure has owned up to wrongdoing in a massive scandal involving $4.5 million in illegal cash and gifts that passed from former executives of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to senior officials of the UAW.
Former Fiat Chrysler labor relations chief Al Iacobelli pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy and tax evasion in a plea deal that would net him a maximum sentence of eight years, although that could be reduced when he is sentenced in May.
Iacobelli, 58, of Rochester Hills told U.S. District Judge Paul Borman that he'd turned over to federal prosecutors the cash equal to the value of the Ferrari sports car that investigators found in his garage _ $354,000. He also surrendered what became the case's most talked-about illicit loot: two Mont Blanc fountain pens, valued at $38,000 each. Soon after he was indicted, Iaccobelli reportedly sold the elite Italian sports car.
Altogether, the former auto executive agreed to pay restitution of "not less than $835,523" for fines, interest and income tax he'd failed to pay, he told the court. He said that in the course of making illegal payments and gifts to union leaders that he was "acting on behalf of Fiat Chrysler," presumably with the goal of influencing union leaders to favor his employer, on the shop floor and at the bargaining table.
The scheme transferred money under the table from the UAW-Chrysler Training Center to UAW recipients. Another of the alleged coconspirators _ Monica Morgan, widow of former UAW vice president and Chrysler unit head General Holiefield _ is to plead guilty to charges in the scandal. Both Iacobelli and Morgan previously pleaded not guilty.
The conspiracy amounts to one of the largest scandals ever to mar the reputation of the UAW, just as union leaders fight losses of organizing drives last year at auto plants in the South and as they prepare for their big convention in June in Detroit to elect new leaders.
Both the UAW's and FCA's top executives denied last year that the torrent of cash and gifts had any effect on the company's relations with the UAW. Neither issued any fresh comment on the scandal Monday.
Last year, in a statement, FCA Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said: "I join Dennis Williams, the UAW president in expressing my disgust at the conduct alleged in the indictment which constitutes the most egregious breach of trust by the individuals involved. I also join Dennis in confirming that this conduct had nothing whatsoever to do with the collective bargaining process."
Two others have pleaded guilty in the scheme: FCA financial analyst Jerome Durden, and retired UAW associate director Virdell King.
