AGENCY: UMW SHOULD POLICE ITSELF BETTER

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, January 25, 1993                   TAG: 9301250096
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: EVANSVILLE, IND.                                LENGTH: Short
AGENCY: UMW SHOULD POLICE ITSELF BETTER
Last week's indictments of three United Mine Workers officials and a former bookkeeper should encourage union members to monitor their own organizations, a U.S. Department of Labor official says.
"There are only 250 investigators and 39,000 labor unions. There is no way to get around to all of them," said Dan Walsh, district director for the Office of Labor and Management Standards.
"Officers and the members have to police themselves."
A federal grand jury indicted the officials and former employee Thursday on charges they allegedly stole $720,000 in union dues, including money taken from a fund set up to help retired or out-of-work coal miners and their families.
The 34-count indictment alleges theft and embezzlement, money laundering, mail fraud, falsification and destruction of records, racketeering, conspiracy, filing false statements with the Department of Labor and tax evasion.
Walsh said elected union officers are responsible by law for spending members' dues in the union's best interest, "but it does come down to a position of trust."

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB