Philadelphia man admits theft from teachers' union
A Philadelphia man yesterday admitted to embezzling thousands of dollars from a teachers' union at an area technical school. Peter Rhein, 42, pleaded guilty to six counts of embezzling and eight counts of making false statements to the federal government. He is a former treasurer of Local Union 3845 of the American Federation of Teachers AFL-CIO, the unit that represents teachers at Lincoln Technical Institute. Lincoln has three campuses in Philadelphia.
A Philadelphia man yesterday admitted to embezzling thousands of dollars from a teachers' union at an area technical school.
Peter Rhein, 42, pleaded guilty to six counts of embezzling and eight counts of making false statements to the federal government. He is a former treasurer of Local Union 3845 of the American Federation of Teachers AFL-CIO, the unit that represents teachers at Lincoln Technical Institute. Lincoln has three campuses in Philadelphia.
Between October 2002 and February 2008, Rhein stole $43,600, using union checks to pay his own personal expenses. He also forged the union president's signature and falsified financial information on annual reports he filed with the Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards.
The stolen money was discovered by Department of Labor investigators.
Rhein faces up to 70 years in prison, a $3.5 million fine, and restitution. Sentencing is scheduled for May 5 in federal court.
His guilty plea comes on the heels of another local union treasurer's sentencing on embezzlement charges.
Last week, Grace Gaines received six months' house arrest and five years' probation for stealing $17,800 from the AFT local based at the Woodhaven Center, a Northeast Philadelphia school for autistic children.
An assistant U.S. attorney described Gaines' crimes as "persistent, systematic, open-ended and ugly."