Convictions in Boilermakers trial ‘bittersweet,’ union leader says: ‘Not over yet’
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- A jury convicted three former Boilermakers of racketeering and embezzlement.
- Sentencing for the convicted defendants is scheduled for Sept. 1.
- Prosecutors say funds went to no‑show jobs, luxury travel, fine dining and loans.
A jury on Friday convicted former Boilermakers International President Newton Jones, his wife and a retired union executive of racketeering conspiracy, embezzlement and other felonies, concluding a monthlong trial over the alleged theft of millions from the Kansas City-based union.
Newton Jones, 72, who led the union from 2003 until his ouster in 2023, and William Creeden, the union’s former international secretary-treasurer, were found guilty of one count of racketeering conspiracy, 23 counts of embezzlement from a labor organization, three counts of theft in connection with health care, one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of theft from an employee retirement plan.
Jones’ wife, Kateryna Jones, 33, whose title was special assistant to the president, was convicted of one count of racketeering conspiracy, seven counts of embezzlement from a labor organization, one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of theft in connection with health care.
Lawrence McManamon, 78, a former international vice president, was found guilty of three counts of embezzlement from a labor organization.
Senior U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree set their sentencing dates for Sept. 1.
None of the defendants were taken into custody. Crabtree determined they were not considered dangerous and that they were not likely flight risks. He did, however, order Newton and Kateryna Jones to wear location monitoring devices and restricted their travel to the middle district of North Carolina, where they live, and to the Kansas City metro area to attend court hearings.
“The verdicts are bittersweet for many Boilermakers,” said Dan Sulivan, the union’s international vice president of the Great Lakes Region. “While it’s encouraging to finally have answers after years of uncertainty, the reality is that our members have paid a tremendous price.
“Millions of dollars in members’ dues have been consumed through alleged embezzlement, legal fees, investigation, and now what will likely be lengthy appeals. Unfortunately, this chapter is not over yet.”
What makes it more frustrating, Sulivan said, is that “much of this could have been avoided.”
“If those in positions of authority who witnessed problems had acted sooner and fulfilled their responsibilities before federal investigators became involved,” he said, “our Brotherhood may never have found itself in this situation.”
The union issued a statement Friday afternoon saying it supported the verdict.
“We have cooperated with the government in bringing these matters to trial and pursuing those who wronged the members of our union,” the statement said. “The Executive Council has implemented significant changes in its structure and governance to ensure events of this nature will never occur again.”
Pat McInerney, an attorney for Newton Jones, declined to comment on the verdict. Creeden attorney Andino Reynal strongly disagreed with the jury’s decision.
“This was a long trial involving complicated issues of union self-governance,” he told The Star in an email. “We think the jury got it wrong and intend to continue fighting the charges.”
The counts for racketeering conspiracy, health care fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to commit wire fraud each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The government also is seeking a $20 million forfeiture.
The maximum penalty for theft in connection with health care and theft from an employee retirement plan is 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The embezzlement counts have a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $10,000 fine.
Many of the details in the government’s case dovetailed with those revealed in a 2012 Kansas City Star investigation, which found that Jones and other executives were living the good life. At that time, Jones’ salary and business expenses totaled more than $607,000, which put him above the presidents of the biggest unions in the country. The Star also reported that several of Jones’ family members and relatives of other officers were earning hefty union salaries as well.
A follow-up investigation in 2017 found that little had changed. Six-figure salaries were still common for officers and their relatives, as were fine dining, stays in posh hotels and expensive hunting retreats.
Jury began deliberating on Tuesday
The jury began deliberations on Tuesday afternoon, with the verdict coming on the 24th day of the trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. The trial was held in Kansas City, Kansas, because the alleged crimes occurred when the union was based there. Its headquarters was relocated to Kansas City in 2023.
The four defendants were among seven former union members indicted in August 2024 for conspiracy to commit offenses under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, as well as other felonies.
The government alleged that the defendants conspired to embezzle millions that went toward salary and benefits for no-show jobs, luxury international travel, fine dining, vacation payouts and unauthorized loans.
The government’s original indictment contained 57 counts. By the end of the trial, it had dismissed 11 counts of embezzlement from a labor union that were related to the costs of international travel.
Newton Jones, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Creeden, of Kearney, Missouri, both faced 46 total felony counts. The jury found them not guilty of 13 counts of embezzlement from a labor union and three counts of theft from an employee retirement plan.
Kateryna Jones, also of Chapel Hill, faced 10 felony counts, and the jury found her guilty on all of them.
McManamon, of Rocky River, Ohio, was charged with six counts of embezzlement from a labor organization and was found guilty on three.
“I think justice was served, but it’s been a long time in the making,” said Brian Opland, former business manager of Seattle-based Boilermakers Local 104, who testified as a government witness at the trial and was in court for the verdict on Friday.
“Twenty-plus years of corruption,” he said. “And what’s sad is that they truly believed they were entitled to do what they did.”
Rank-and-file members praised the verdict but said concerns remain.
“I know I speak for most of the members of our international union when I say that justice has been served,” said Darrell Manroe, a member of Kansas City-based Local 83. “But unfortunately, I believe there are others who still remain in office and who work with the international to this day who knew what was going on, and to me and the members, they’re just as guilty.
“We want and need a clean slate at the international level and a fair election if we intend to ever have faith in our union leaders again. But this is a start.”
‘The Jones Enterprise’
During the five-week trial, the government laid out what it called the “Jones Enterprise,” painting a picture of Newton Jones as a man who controlled every aspect of the organization. He gave high-paying jobs to family members, spent members’ money on extravagant overseas trips with stays in five-star hotels, fancy meals and alcohol, enjoyed unmonitored use of his union credit card and made it next to impossible for anyone outside his inner circle to attain a leadership position.
A significant portion of the government’s case focused on an extensive list of international trips that union leaders went on and how much they cost.
One was a three-week trip in 2019 in which Newton and Kateryna Jones traveled to her home country of Ukraine, then to Milan and Verona, Italy, at a cost to the union of $30,000. A week after their return, the two traveled to Madrid, Spain, with McManamon and eight other union employees. That weeklong trip cost the union $165,000, according to the government.
In early 2020, the Joneses, Creeden, McManamon and seven others went on an 11-day trip to London, costing $165,000, the government alleged. And a 13-day trip in the fall of 2021 to Great Britain, Scotland and the Netherlands included Newton and Kateryna Jones, his daughter and her boyfriend, along with Creeden, McManamon, six more union employees and a guest. The cost: $180,000.
The trips sometimes featured side excursions to wineries and historical landmarks like the Pompeii ruins, ancient Greek temples and the Vatican.
In addition to Newton Jones’ lucrative union job, the government said, he appointed himself CEO of the Bank of Labor — formerly Brotherhood Bank & Trust — in 2010 and created the position of senior executive vice president for Creeden. The union is a majority shareholder in the bank.
Not only did the two receive pay as members of the banks’ board of directors, prosecutors said, they also received salaries for their purported full-time positions of CEO and senior executive vice president even though they performed no additional work beyond what they did as board members.
While in those positions, the government said, Jones received about $4 million in salaries, yearly bonuses and benefits and Creeden received about $3.4 million. The two filed annual reports with the Department of Labor listing their bank board of directors’ fees, but failed to disclose the much larger salaries and benefits they received as bank employees, prosecutors said.
The government also alleged that in 2021 and 2022, while serving on the bank board, Jones and Creeden used union funds to execute $7 million in unauthorized loans to the bank. That action, the government said, was a violation of their legal duty of fidelity to the Boilermakers union and also a violation of the Bank of Labor’s conflict-of-interest policy.
Defendants ‘just doing their jobs,’ their attorneys said
Defense attorneys repeatedly contended that the government could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that their clients intended to join a criminal racketeering conspiracy.
They also disputed that the defendants’ spending practices constituted embezzlement. No rules exist, they said, on how much a union can spend on travel or how many members can go on the trips.
The defendants acted in accordance with the union’s constitution, their attorneys maintained, and their extensive international travel showed that they were simply trying to do their jobs, which included building a worldwide brand and attracting mergers.
In response to the Bank of Labor allegations, the defense presented testimony from a banking executive who said Newton Jones was instrumental in turning the bank into a successful operation.
Others charged in the case
Three others charged in the case pleaded guilty prior to the trial. Warren Fairley — who briefly took over as Boilermakers president in 2023 after Jones was removed — and Jones’ son, Cullen Jones, pleaded guilty in March to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of embezzlement from a labor organization. Both are scheduled to be sentenced June 30.
Kathy Stapp, who became the union’s International Secretary-Treasurer after Creeden resigned in 2023, pleaded guilty in December 2024 to one count of racketeering conspiracy. Her sentencing is scheduled for July 7.
And in a related case, another former union executive, Tyler Brown, pleaded guilty in May 2024 to one count of racketeering conspiracy. Brown, who served as the union’s chief of staff and as special assistant to Jones, was accused of scheming with “others known and unknown” to steal from the union. His sentencing also is scheduled for July 7.
Fairley, Stapp and Brown testified for the government during the trial.
This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 5:30 PM.
