An Irvington, N.Y., woman was charged with stealing millions from members of the construction workers’ union, Local 147. Melissa King, 60, pleaded guilty in Manhattan Federal Court on Friday to stealing some, but not all, of the $42 million she was charged with embezzling from pension and employee benefit plans from her company, King Care, which administered benefits on behalf of Local 147, the New York Post reported. “Um, I plead guilty, but I don’t plead guilty to millions of dollars,’’ King said. According to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara, King used the millions to fund an extravagant lifestyle, which included spending millions on antique jewelry and horses.
Local 147 represents the union workers who build subways, bridge foundations and other underground construction projects. “For years, Melissa King betrayed the hard-working union members who relied on her to safeguard their pensions, and in the end she left them deprived of financially secure retirements,” Bharara said in a statement issued early Friday evening, as reported by LoHud.com.
[LoHud.com] and [Post]