Former Treasurer Pleads Guilty To Stealing Over $50,000 In Union Funds

BUFFALO – A former treasurer of a local union has plead guilty to stealing over $50,000 in funds from a Celoron area labor group.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Buffalo says that 40-year-old Scott Russell Merritt, of Celoron, pleaded guilty to theft from a labor union.

Prosecutors say between May 2011 and August 2018 Merritt was the treasurer of Ironworkers Local 470.

As treasurer, he allegedly embezzled $50,850.71 in union funds by writing checks to pay various personal expenses.

Sentencing is scheduled for August 18. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor Management Standards, under the direction of the Boston-Buffalo District Director Jonathan Russo.