Ex-union leader from Philips Lighting plant gets sentencing
GATEHOUSE MEDIA

BATH - A former union leader at the Philips Lighting plant in Bath was recently sentenced in federal court for illegally receiving nearly $3,500 in disability payments.

William S. Drake, of Avoca, the former president of the United Steelworkers of America Local 1013T, received two years probation and was fined $500 by U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan W. Feldman during sentencing in a Rochester federal court, according to a court spokesman.

Drake was also ordered to pay $3,497 in restitution, which he had already begun to pay. He must also perform 250 hours of community service by the end of his probation term and was ordered to sever contact with the union.

Drake pleaded guilty in late Nov. to a misdemeanor charge of failure to disclose material information in a document or report. He was charged for receiving both worker's compensation and insurance payments while off work.

According to charges by the state Department of Labor, between July 2001 and Dec. 2003, Drake submitted disability claims to the union for lost time above and beyond the compensation he received from Philips Lighting.

However, Drake's claims to the union did not report the payments he received from Philips Lighting.

Drake was charged after a random audit by the state. A union spokesman said Drake made an error when filing the claims, and collected the illegal payments unintentionally.