Former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles vice president Alphons Iacobelli has pleaded guilty to allegations that he made at least $1.5 million in improper payments to senior officials from the United Auto Workers union.
The 58-year-old was charged in July for taking part in a conspiracy to pay prohibited money and gifts to union officials, Reuters reports. Prosecutors claim Iacobelli will be forced to repay $835,000 and asserts that he faces a statutory maximum of eight years in prison.
In the U.S. District Charge, Iacobelli plead guilty to conspiracy to violate the Labor Management Relations Act. Additionally, he subscribed a false tax return after failing to declare hundreds of thousands of dollars in income that was illegally diverted.
Government officials assert that Iacobelli made the illegal payments to United Auto Workers official in an attempt to obtain concessions and advantages for the carmaker.
Iacobelli faces sentencing on May 29.
The former executive isn’t the only one caught up in the scandal. The wife of former UAW vice president General Holiefield, who died in 2015, Monica Morgon, is expected to plead guilty to similar charges.
In a statement, the UAW said it is “appalled at these charges. We have worked with the (national training center) and Fiat Chrysler to implement a range of measures aimed at enhancing transparency and internal controls at the NTC to reduce the risk of any future recurrence of these activities.”
Fiat Chrysler Automobile chief executive Sergio Marchionne called the conduct “deplorable.”
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