FLORIDA – A central Florida labor union bookkeeper has pleaded guilty to embezzlement.
Denise E. Kovacs, 60, of Clermont, faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced last week.
Sentencing for Kovacs is scheduled for June 21, 2023, before U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger.
According to court documents, Kovacs was the bookkeeper at Plumbers AFL-CIO Local 803, a labor union that represents plumbers and pipefitters in central Florida.
During a nearly five-year period of employment, Kovacs reportedly stole $43,777 in cash from union dues and charged $261,126 in expenses on the union’s credit card, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (USAO).
According to the USAO, Kovacs altered internal business records to conceal her ongoing embezzlement of funds from union officials.
This case was investigated by the Department of Labor, Office of Labor Management Standards. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael P. Felicetta.
