SPFPA Financial Secretary-Treasurer Local 238 Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement from a Labor Union
- Eyes on SPFPA
- Feb 10
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 14
ROCKFORD — A Morrison, Ill. man pleaded guilty in federal court before U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston to embezzling from a labor organization.
BRENT TOPPERT, 42, was the elected Financial Secretary-Treasurer of SPFPA Local 238 of the Security, Police, and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA). The SPFPA represented members engaged in providing security at a nuclear plant in Cordova, Ill. Toppert admitted in a plea agreement that in 2018 he made an unauthorized withdrawal of $500 from a bank account owned by the SPFPA, and that the withdrawal was not for any business purpose. Toppert admitted that he converted this money to his personal use.
The government alleged in the plea agreement that Toppert converted a total of $63,713.14 of the SPFPA’s assets to his personal use.
Toppert faces a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment. The actual sentence will be determined by the U.S. District Court, guided by the Sentencing Guidelines. Sentencing is set for June 6, 2023 at 1:30 p.m.
The guilty plea was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Thomas Murray, District Director of the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Labor Management Standards. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Love.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Florida couple pled guilty today to conspiracy to provide and receive prohibited labor payments, in violation of the Labor Management Relations Act, also known as the Taft-Hartley Act.
According to court documents, since at least 2010 until November 2023, Ricky Dallas O’Quinn, 63, of Melbourne, Florida, served as both an officer and employee of International Union, Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA), a labor organization that represents protective security officers at federal workplaces. SPFPA executed collective bargaining agreements with several employers covering the security industry in several states. Ricky’s wife, Mabel O’Quinn, was the founder, incorporator, and an initial director of Company-2, which provided protective security officers at federal workplaces in numerous states. While Mabel served as Company-2’s chief executive officer and president, Ricky was involved in the finance, budget, and operations of the company since its inception in a clandestine role. Both Ricky and Mabel O’Quinn hid Ricky’s involvement in operating Company-2.
Read more about this story: Former SPFPA VP @ Large Rick O'Quinn & His Wife Plead Guilty in a Scheme to Provide & Receive Prohibited Labor Payments
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