'97 Forgery At Union Unreported, Audit Finds

Current President Says She Told Only Bullock

The auditors wrote that they "found no evidence of any actual or attempted repayments" of the $8,000 check by Barbara A. Bullock. (File Photo)

The interim head of the Washington Teachers' Union, Esther S. Hankerson, knew in 1997 that a check had been forged in her name -- payable to then-President Barbara A. Bullock -- and confronted Bullock but did not report it to anybody else, an audit showed.

The audit, conducted for the union's parent, the American Federation of Teachers, and released Thursday, found that more than $5 million was allegedly looted from the local union over the past seven years by its officials -- more than double what was previously thought.

One union source said that amount represented at least one-fourth of all the money the teachers union collected in dues over the period. Alex Wohl, a spokesman for the parent union, said that he could not confirm that assessment but "that it was a ton of money taken."

Hankerson, who became interim president when Bullock resigned in October, did not return telephone calls yesterday. She has said repeatedly in recent weeks that she was not aware of wrongdoing. Bullock also did not return calls.

The audit said that three former union officers -- Bullock, assistant Gwendolyn M. Hemphill and treasurer James O. Baxter II -- diverted the money to themselves, relatives and others for personal benefit. It also said that the amount misappropriated might turn out to be substantially higher but that many records were missing.

An FBI affidavit filed last month in a criminal investigation said that some of the money was spent on such luxury items as furs, art, jewelry, silver and custom-made clothes. The parent union began the audit after a member of the Washington Teachers' Union complained about a dues overcharge last summer. After the parent union discovered some questionable transactions, Bullock, Hemphill and Baxter left their posts and the parent union referred the case to the U.S. attorney. No charges have been filed in the criminal investigation.

During the time the money allegedly was being taken, the union was consistently late in paying phone, rent and electric bills and often told teachers that it could not help them with basic services, sources have said.

Hankerson, who was general vice president under Bullock, was not tied by the FBI affidavit to any wrongdoing and has said she was not responsible for the finances.

The audit said she co-signed checks with Bullock when the two took office in 1994, until Hemphill was hired in 1996, and after that would occasionally do so. The audit team reviewed records and interviewed Hankerson and current and former officials.

The audit revealed that in 1997 -- five years before the financial irregularities became public -- Hankerson received a call from Independence Federal Savings Bank about an $8,000 check, payable to Bullock. The check purportedly had been signed by Hankerson.

The banker indicated that the signature appeared to have been forged, the audit said. Although Hankerson told the audit team that she had not signed such a check, she "nonetheless instructed the bank to pay it," the audit said.

Hankerson stated that she allowed the check to be honored for payment because she didn't know whether Bullock had signed her name in an unusual circumstance for union business, the audit said.

Hankerson confronted Bullock at the time, according to the audit, and Bullock acknowledged having forged Hankerson's signature but said she needed the money and would repay it. Hankerson said that she asked Bullock several times about the repayment and that Bullock always responded that she would make it, the audit said. The auditors wrote that they "found no evidence of any actual or attempted repayments."

"To our knowledge, Hankerson never reported the incident to anyone" at the union or any other authority, the audit said.

The American Federation of Teachers is considering placing the local union in an "administratorship," which would dissolve local leadership for as long as 18 months.

The local union, with about 5,000 members, operates almost entirely on dues, union officials said. Full-time teachers pay $24.75 every two weeks, while nonunion employees who benefit from the union's bargaining with the school system pay 85 percent of that amount, or $21.04, a payment known as an "agency fee." Dues and fees go up whenever teachers get pay increases.

For full-time teachers, the annual amount of dues is $643. That is $110 more than dues paid by members of the teachers union in Montgomery County and $130 more than the Fairfax County union charges.

The revelations in the audit, prepared by Bethesda-based Klausner Dubinsky and Associates, stunned some union members. Some said they believed that Hankerson should have suspected something was amiss. Others said that the culture of the union has long tolerated impropriety and that few people asked questions.

Gloria Guess, who has been active in the union since 1981, said she got little support at a union meeting when she raised the issue of whether it was a conflict of interest to hire as the union's lawyer Curtis Lewis, who was the treasurer's brother. At a meeting with more than 100 people, she said, five supported her.