Grand Jury Indicts Former FCA Executive In Union Payoff Scheme

A former labor relations executive at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV has been charged with making more than $2.2 million in illegal payments to himself and a United Auto Workers union official in Detroit.

A federal grand jury indictment says Alphons Iacobelli, FCA’s vice president for employee relations in the U.S. between 2008 and 2015, spent $1 million earmarked to train UAW members to buy himself such luxuries as a $350,000 Ferrari 458 Spider, a swimming pool and two gold pens that cost $37,500 each.

The funds came from the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center, which was launched to provide education, training and retraining services for UAW members.

Iacobelli abruptly announced his retirement in June 2015 as he was about to lead FCA’s contract talks with the UAW. FCA says his departure was the result of an internal investigation that turned up “credible evidence of wrongdoing.”

The head of the UAW’s Chrysler negotiating team during much of Iacobelli’s tenure was General Holiefield. The indictment says Iacobelli had diverted $1.2 million to Holiefield between 2009 and 2014 and that Holiefield used the money to pay off a $262,000 home mortgage and buy jewelry, designer clothing and expensive furniture.

Holiefield died in March 2015. His wife, Monica Morgan, also has been indicted and charged with criminal violations of the National Labor Relations Act for her role in the payoff scheme. The grand jury further indicted Jerome Durden, a former FCA financial analyst, who is accused of falsifying tax returns to hide the payments.

The U.S. Dept. of Justice’s continuing investigation involves several other unidentified persons of interest. The indictment says Iacobelli gave Holiefield and “other senior UAW officials” almost unlimited use of credit cards.