Former Union Treasurer Sentenced to Prison for Embezzling more than $80,000

          The former Treasurer of a small union in Snohomish County was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to five months in prison for theft of union funds, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. PASCALE MCATEE, 58, of Lynnwood, Washington, pleaded guilty in April 2017, admitting that between 2011 and 2015 she embezzled more than $82,903 from a transportation union in Snohomish County. At sentencing U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said you “embezzled $75,000 from a bunch of lower paid employees who were (your) friends. . . . Stripped of everything else, that’s what this is about.”

          According to records filed in the case, MCATEE was elected Treasurer of SMART LU 161 in 2010. The union was formed in 2008 and represents approximately 90 members, mostly working in transportation jobs in the Snohomish County area. Members pay approximately $47 a month in union dues. MCATEE embezzled the money transferring funds from the union bank accounts to her own bank account and her husband’s bank account, and by writing checks and depositing them to her personal account. Over the four years she embezzled more than $53,000 via wire transfer and wrote herself checks totaling more than $27,000. A union investigation uncovered the thefts in 2015. In 2016, while the law enforcement investigation was underway, MCATEE led an effort to decertify the union in an apparent effort to avoid criminal charges. The grand jury returned an indictment in December 2016.

          The embezzlement has demoralized union membership and resulted in the union being hit with penalties for overdue taxes.

          Judge Robart ordered MCATEE to be on supervised release for three years following her prison term.

          The case was investigated by U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor Management Standards. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney André Peñalver.