Ex-union secretary who stole $412,000 sentenced

LANSING (AP) -- The former office secretary for a plumbers union in Lansing has been sentenced to three years, six months in prison for embezzling $412,000 from the union and its apprenticeship and training fund. Thirty-five-year-old April D. Franklin of Mason worked for Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 333 between 1999 and 2009. She pleaded guilty in May to federal charges of theft from an employee benefit plan and embezzlement of union funds. U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney sentenced her Monday. He also ordered Franklin to repay the $412,000 she stole and to serve three years' probation after her release. Published: Wed, Jul 27, 2011