Leticia Russi-Shareno Pleads Guilty To Labor Union Embezzlement

Burlington, Vermont - The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Vermont announced that Leticia Russi-Shareno, 60, of Kenmore, New York, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court in Burlington to a charge of wire fraud. Chief U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss released Russi-Shareno on conditions pending sentencing, which is scheduled for May 22.

On November 20, 2024, the United States Attorney filed a one-count information charging Russi-Shareno with wire fraud. Russi-Shareno pleaded guilty to the information in court today. According to the information, between approximately August 2019 and December 2020, Russi-Shareno served as president of Local 2076 of the American Federation of Government Employees. Local 2076 is a labor union whose members are employees of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security working in Vermont and upstate New York. As president, Russi-Shareno had check signing authority on Local 2076's Vermont bank account and also received a debit card to make official purchases on behalf of the union.

According to the information, during her presidency, Russi-Shareno embezzled approximately $36,000 from Local 2076's coffers by using the union's debit card to make ATM withdrawals of funds for personal expenses; using the debit card to make purchases for her personal benefit; and by falsifying paperwork to obtain duplicate reimbursements for expenses incurred on behalf of Local 2076. The defendant also cashed or deposited into her own account several checks that the national AFGE union had issued to Local 2076.

Russi-Shareno faces up to 20 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000. Her actual sentence, however, would be determined by the District Court with guidance from the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines and the statutory sentencing factors.

This case was investigated by the Boston and Buffalo Regional Office of the Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards and the Department of Homeland Security.

Russi-Shareno is represented by Mark Kaplan, Esq. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.