Former PA Prison Union Officials Charged With Misusing Funds

August 25, 2023

An inmate is pictured at SCI Somerset on June 2, 2021.
Credit: PA Internet News Service

Several past officials from the Pennsylvania prison officers’ union are facing theft charges.

The former officials of Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association have been by Pennsylvania State Police accused of misusing union money for personal expenses and concealing their actions, according to authorities.

Earlier this month, PennLive.com in Harrisburg broke the news.

Those accused of crimes were two past union heads and three former vice presidents.

According to the Associated Press, following former officials have been charged:

Jason Bloom, ex-union president, for unauthorized expenses amounting to $8,286.48.
Roy Pinto, another former president, for charges of $2,030.50.
Tim Walsh, previously the Executive Vice President, for a sum of $5,834.58.
Larry Blackwell, the past Western Region Vice President, for $2,488.02.
Robert Storm, the ex-Eastern Region Vice President, for a total of $4,422.13.

“The fraudulent transactions made between 2015 and 2019 include dozens of iTunes charges, thousands of dollars spent at wineries and vineyards, and a string of expenses at luxury venues in Las Vegas, according to an affidavit filed by state police,” PennLive.com reported.

The Associated Press reported a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections said Bloom has been put on unpaid suspension from his role at a state prison. The other four individuals are no longer employed by the state.

The union’s current leaders told the news service none of those accused remain involved in the organization.

The Fairness Center, a nonprofit public interest law firm, has been representing some corrections officers’ union members in a civil lawsuit related to the union’s problems.

The concerned corrections officers have argued that former leadership misused members’ funds on extravagant items and personal expenses. The expenses outlined in the lawsuit include golf outings, NFL tickets, a $12,000 Rolex watch, iTunes purchases, and other personal expenses exceeding $200,000 on union credit cards.

The lawsuit was initiated after corrections officers Cory Yedlosky, Chris Taylor, and another officer discovered financial violations at the local union level in 2019. However, their findings were dismissed by Bloom, the association’s then-president.

Consequently, Yedlosky and Taylor resigned from the union in 2019. The Fairness Center then filed the lawsuit on their behalf.

The Fairness Center said there is an ongoing investigation into a missing $1.8 million from a trust fund overseen by Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association.

“Since the Fairness Center’s clients filed their lawsuit, the union has begun reforming its financial practices, including conducting trainings for local union treasurers and tightening credit card oversight. As a result, PSCOA has seen a substantial increase in its savings accounts in recent years. And because of this, the union, which represents some 10,000 employees in 23 state prisons, has lowered membership dues across the board,” The Fairness Center said in a statement.

Nathan McGrath, president and general counsel for the Fairness Center, released the following statement:

“Our clients filed their lawsuit to bring transparency and accountability to the corrections officers’ union. They exposed significant financial issues at the local and state unions, with two different union officials charged with serious crimes. Because their litigation spurred the union to reform its financial practices, our clients have already made enormous progress on their goal.”

Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.