BENTON – Byron Clemons Sr., 36, of Alton, who embezzled $202,100 from Local 124 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and lost most of it in casinos, will serve a sentence of 18 months.
U.S. District Judge Staci Yandle sentenced Clemons on Aug. 2, and ordered him to make restitution.
Local 124 stated in a victim impact letter that Clemons showed blatant disregard for about 170 hard working members.
The letter stated, “When suspicions started to arise, he not only gaslighted members by denying requests for the required financial reports and insisting everything was fine, but he also attempted to steal the local’s biannual elections twice in a failed attempt to remain in control.”
The letter stated that taxes weren’t filed, reports weren’t submitted, and fees weren’t paid.
“To this day, Byron has not apologized, attempted to pay back a single penny, or even agreed to return the union’s belongings to the new board,” it stated.
“His disastrous leadership has continued to plague the new board, as we effectively had to completely start over,” it added.
“Byron has shown no action that would lead us to believe he can be trusted to find a job and start to make this right by paying restitution,” the letter continued.
Clemons graduated from Alton High in 2005, and the state hired him in 2008 as an aide at Murray Developmental Center in Centralia.
He later took a job at Alton Mental Health Center.
Local 124 members elected him as president in 2017 and again in 2019.
On Feb. 19, 2021, he withdrew $15,000 in cash from Local 124’s account at US Bank and put it in a safe at home.
He spent $2,029.28 of it in April 2021 to prevent repossession of his vehicle.
He took the rest to casinos in Missouri.
In the next eight months, Clemons withdrew cash 47 times at an average of about $4,000.
Local 124 members began proceedings to remove him last year, and he realized his removal would lead to discovery of his crimes.
He hired attorney Robert Bas of Edwardsville, who reached out to the government.
Clemons admitted his crimes to the U.S. labor department and waived indictment this April.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Verseman filed information charging transportation of stolen money across the state line.
He and Clemons stipulated that Clemons embezzled $202,100, used most of it to gamble, and used the remainder to pay personal expenses.
Verseman recommended a sentence of 18 months.
“Crimes simply hurt more when they are committed by someone you know and trust,” he wrote.
Verseman wrote that Clemons sought counseling for a gambling addiction after his conviction.
He wrote that this caused the government to question whether Clemons was motivated by sincere desire to address his problem or an attempt to support a lenient sentence.
“A prison sentence will also drive home to Clemons the seriousness of his offense and the need to stop gambling in order to prevent any further periods of incarceration,” Verseman wrote.
Bas recommended punishment between incarceration and probation.
He wrote that Clemons lived an exemplary life until 2020.
He wrote that the state placed Clemons on medical leave in February 2022, and he began receiving about $2,800 a month in workers compensation.
He added that Clemons awaits a personal injury award and has agreed to repay the amount he stole from proceeds of the award.
Yandle adopted Verseman’s recommendation.