L.A. County Labor Chief May Quit in Funds Probe
By Patrick McGreevy and Steve Hymon Times Staff Writers
February 17, 2006
Former Los Angeles City Councilman Martin Ludlow is considering stepping down as head of an influential and politically active labor group and is weighing a plea bargain with prosecutors investigating the alleged misuse of union money in his 2003 campaign for the council, associates and sources said Thursday.
Union officials seemed stunned as word circulated that Ludlow might face criminal charges. Only last summer, he resigned his council post to became executive secretary-treasurer the top staff position of the powerful Los Angeles County Federation of Labor upon the sudden death of his union mentor, Miguel Contreras.
[......]
Sources said authorities have found evidence that Ludlow's council campaign benefited from a secret effort by leaders of Service Employees International Union, Local 99, which represents school employees. The two sources spoke on the condition they not be identified because, although they have direct knowledge of the plea proposal, they are not authorized to speak publicly.
Investigators suspect that Local 99 leaders illegally spent at least $53,000 in union funds to hire political operatives as phantom employees and to pay for cellphones, computers and phone banks benefiting Ludlow's campaign, according to the sources.
[....]