Teachers Union Chief Sentenced in Scandal

WASHINGTON - The former president of the Washington Teachers' Union was sentenced Friday to more than nine years in prison for a scam in which she embezzled millions of dollars in union dues.

The judge sentenced Barbara A. Bullock, 65, on charges of conspiracy and mail fraud in a case that prosecutors described as "nothing short of brazen greed."

U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon also ordered Bullock upon her release to spend three years in a halfway house and to perform 3,000 hours of community service. She also must repay $4.6 million to the union and turn over luxury items - including artwork, fur coats, and electronics - purchased with the stolen union funds.

Bullock pleaded guilty last fall.

Appearing solemn before the judge Friday, Bullock asked his forgiveness.

"I stand before you a broken and changed person," she said. "When I think about what happened - and I've had a year to do it - I would change things."

Prosecutors said the illegal activity took place over more than six years, after Bullock became the union's president in 1994. During that time, the attorneys said, Bullock siphoned money from the union to make a number of lavish purchases. The haul included $100,000 in season tickets to games of the NFL Washington Redskins and the NBA Washington Wizards.

The scam was first discovered in July 2002 during an audit by the union's parent organization, the American Federation of Teachers. The scandal didn't become public until late 2003 when the FBI seized a number of luxury items from the homes of several former union officials.

Two of those officials were indicted by a federal grand jury in November on charges they conspired to steal millions of dollars in union funds. Three other people have pleaded guilty to lesser charges, including Bullock's former chauffeur.