Wisconsin

$146,000 Spent By SEIU At Hotel Used By Organizers Under Investigation

Organizations

By Collin Roth

Media Trackers can exclusively report that the Service Employee International Union spent $146,924 on lodging in 2011 at a suburban Milwaukee hotel used by out-of-state SEIU organizers who voted, resulting in an investigation by the Milwaukee County District Attorney. In October 2011, Media Trackers uncovered three out-of-state SEIU organizers who voted in the April 5, 2011 election from a Glendale, Wisconsin Residence Inn using their ID’s from Georgia, Florida, and New Jersey. In the wake of the story, the Milwaukee District Attorney’s office began an investigation in November 2011, issuing subpoenas, search warrants, and interviewing hotel staff.

Then, on December 9, 2011, Assistant District Attorney for the Public Integrity Unit Bruce Landgraf issued a search warrant for the email account of Senior Organizer Clarence Haynes, an SEIU operative from Florida. In 2011, Department of Labor documents reveal that Clarence Haynes was listed as a Senior Organizer earning $142,444. As to the probable cause, the search warrant reads in part:

But perhaps one of the most interesting facts in the Clarence Haynes search warrant was a footnote on the bottom of page 2 which reveals the size and scope of the out-of-state SEIU operation based at the Glendale Residence Inn.

Connecting the dots, Media Trackers uncovered in SEIU documents filed with the U.S. Department of Labor just this spring that the SEIU spent a total of $146,924 on lodging at the Glendale, Wisconsin Residence Inn. As previously noted, this Residence Inn housed the three organizers who voted using out-of-state ID’s and listed the hotel address as their residence resulting in an investigation by the Milwaukee County District Attorney. Given the amount spent in 2011 on the hotel, the was the home to apparently a massive out-of-state organizing effort.

If convicted, Senior SEIU Organizer Clarence Haynes could face a Class I Felony. As of April 2012, Milwaukee’s TMJ4 reported that the case was still under investigation.

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