NITRO, W.Va. — A Cross Lanes man plead guilty to embezzlement of labor union assets Wednesday.
Gary F. Fridley II, 41, was employed by American Electric Power as a union officer in Nitro. Fridley served as the union’s elected financial secretary. In that role, Fridley was entitled to an officer’s salary as well as reimbursement for lost time and wages when he took off work for union-related business.
Fridley admitted to receiving a check in June of 2019 for lost time when in fact he had not lost any time with AEP. The check was in an amount of $1,321.55 as reimbursement for lost time. Fridley cashed the check with a forged signature from another union official.
He also admitted to submitting false vouchers for lost time payments as the union’s financial secretary. Fridley forged the signatures of other union officials to cash the union checks he wrote to himself in the amount of $19,732.88.
Fridley’s sentencing is scheduled for August 29, 2023. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, as well as a $250,000 fine. He owes the $19,732.88 in restitution.