May 28, 2009
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News: Union Leader Quits in Heat of CC Misuse
San Diego's largest city employee union is facing the heat of an investigation into credit card abuse by Municipal Employee Association (MEA) members. In the wake of the investigation, Judie Italiano, the union's longtime leader and general manager, resigned. Ms. Italiano allegedly misused the association's credit card by charging personal items to the account. The misuse was brought to light several months ago when the MEA began the budgeting process for the next fiscal year. After the discovery of Italiano's misuse of the association's cards, officials of the association placed new procedures in place to prevent the abuse from occurring in the future. They instituted a new policy that prohibits members from using the association's credit cards for personal use. The new guidelines were the subject of a heated debate among members. The heated debate sparked an investigation by the city attorney as well as a lawsuit filed by two association members.
It's reported that the 24 year veteran of the association had been secretly trying to pay down the debt during the past few years while still using the card. The association placed Italiano on leave May 12th during the investigation probe; however, she turned in her resignation 10 days later. Shortly thereafter, she sent a check to the MEA for $13,903 covering the credit card charges plus interest and miscellaneous advances. Union officials made the resignation and details of the credit card abuse known to its 4,700 members in a letter detailing the abusive activities. The District Attorney's Office is currently investigating to determine if any crime was committed.
The Union's President stated that Ms. Italiano has been with the association for a very long time and just had a lot of control over what was going on. He also said that no other officers were aware of her credit card activities. Additionally, letting her go was a tuff decision since Ms Italiano played an instrumental role in the growth of the organization.