DETROIT --The UAW-Chrysler National Training Center may continue its legal battle to be declared a victim in the ongoing UAW-FCA corruption scandal.
In a statement to Automotive News on Monday, the training center wrote it was "extremely disappointed" with the April 8 decision by U.S. District Judge Paul Borman and that it was considering an appeal to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The decision denied the training center's request for restitution for money misappropriated by former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles executive Alphons Iacobelli, who pleaded guilty to corruption charges in the case last year and is serving 66 months in federal prison in Morgantown, W.Va. He is due for release on Oct. 16, 2023, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.
"Using various fraudulent methods, Mr. Iacobelli masterminded the theft of millions of dollars of his personal benefit and the benefits of others," the training center statement said. "The NTC has been trying to recover all monies that he misappropriated and will continue to do so until the money he stole is returned to the NTC.
"Therefore, the NTC is presently examining whether an appeal ... is the best way to proceed to continue this critical effort. The NTC will also continue to pursue its civil suit against Mr. Iacobelli, which is presently pending in Oakland County Circuit Court."
Borman's ruling said the training center was not entitled to victim status because it functioned as a co-conspirator with corrupt FCA and UAW officials.
Borman wrote that the center passed FCA funds through to be distributed to defendants who colluded with training center officials in authorizing the illegal payments and credit card expenses.
The three-way court battle among the training center, Iacobelli's lawyer David DuMouchel and Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Shaw has been ongoing as the overall UAW-FCA corruption scandal works its way through the legal process.
In February, a restitution hearing for Iacobelli lasted two hours, with arguments over whether the training center was a co-conspirator used to siphon money to crooked former union officials.
The chaos in the courtroom drove Borman to adjourn the case and order Walter Piszczatowski, a lawyer representing the training center, to file a maximum 10-page brief in two weeks. Borman also allowed Shaw and DuMouchel the chance to respond before making a final decision on Iacobelli's sentencing.
Shaw told Automotive News on Tuesday that she had no comment on the center's possible appeal. DuMouchel also declined to comment.
