The UAW has found a buyer for the controversial lakefront home in northern Michigan that was built for disgraced former President Dennis Williams, though the selling price reportedly fell $200,000 short of the $1.3 million the union was asking.
New UAW President Ray Curry, in a note to members last week, said the sale was finalized July 23.
Curry said the money will go to the union's general fund.
"This sale rights a wrong from the past, and I want each and every one of you to know that we continue to implement ethics reforms throughout the organization to ensure that the abuses of the past can never happen again," Curry wrote.
Cabin 4 at the UAW's conference center on Black Lake was intended to be a retirement home for Williams. Construction of the 1,885-square-foot home — which has granite counters, stainless-steel appliances, a wood-burning fireplace, a wine cooler and a storage room hidden behind a hinged bookshelf — started in 2018, the year Williams retired.
In May, Williams was sentenced to 21 months in prison for being a key ringleader in the union's corruption scandal along with his successor, Gary Jones. The multiyear federal investigation resulted in 15 convictions.
The sale of the home was delayed by the pandemic, easement issues and a federal affidavit that said the house was "subject to forfeiture to the United States" because of law violations related to the scandal.
Union spokesman Brian Rothenberg said the Justice Department dropped its objections and only wanted to find out who was buying the house.
