Former UAW official Ashton pleads guilty, sent to prison for 3 years
We are getting quick updates for you, and here’s a major one. Former UAW Vice President Joe Ashton is the 11th person in line to plead guilty.
He sentenced the guilty frame in the federal governments ongoing corruption probe. Joe Ashton the UAW ‘s lead negotiator with General Motors in 2011 who was the earlier sitting member of GM’s board pleaded guilty this Wednesday in the federal court leading to money laundering and wire fraud.
And it is expected by him to receive a prison sentence of 30 to 37 months. He also agreed to forfeit 250000 $ that he collected in the kickbacks. And this was under the plea statement agreement filed by his prosecutor.
Sentencing was for 3 March. He was charged on Nov. 6 in the corruption Scandal which functions around misuse of union funds. Ashton was the vice president in charge of UAW’s GM department from 2010 to 2014.
He also saw the board of UAW and GM’s jointly running training centre.
Ashton’s Earlier life experiences
After retiring from the union, he represented the UAW’s retiree health care trust on the GM BOD for three years and resigned himself in 2017 after being involved and issued notice from the corruption investigation.
We hear from his attorney, Jerome Ballarotto “ he is guilty as the judge said.” he also referred that we sometimes find good people making bad decisions and this was just the case and it was driven out just because of a situation they find themselves trapped in.
Ashton asked Ballarotto to apologize to the UAW members and GM. Ballarotto also added that UAW was the canter of his professional life for half of the century.
They both will be having an explanation for the verdict and his crimes during his sentencing in March. And it wont be an excuse or a defence. It wont be a justification either.
Though he refused to share details of explanation but he repeated that he was not ordered to commit crimes . It was his bad decision of his own. If the sentencing exceeds 30 months he may file a plea for downward variance.
