JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – 9/16/26 – A resident of Altoona, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of embezzlement and falsification of an annual financial report, United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
On September 15, 2026, Nicole DeStefano, 52, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Stephanie L. Haines to one count of embezzlement of labor union assets and one count of falsifying an annual financial report filed by a labor union.
In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, from 2015 through 2022, DeStefano served as the secretary-treasurer for the American Postal Workers Union Local 776 in Altoona. As the secretary-treasurer, she was responsible for maintaining all financial records, preparing annual reports, and issuing payments on behalf of Local 776. In September 2022, a member of Local 776 determined that the union’s 2021 annual financial report reflected abnormal disbursements from prior years. DeStefano had signed the financial report as both the treasurer and president, but had not provided notice either that she would be signing the report as the president or permitting union members to examine the financial records. The Blair Township Police Department opened an investigation, and law enforcement obtained a search warrant for DeStefano’s bank records.
Those bank records document that DeStefano wrote checks to herself from the union accounts—including, between December 2019 and August 2022, approximately 42 unauthorized checks totaling $30,411.68—as well as to “cash.” An audit of the union bank accounts also identified 43 unauthorized debit transactions, totaling almost $20,000. DeStefano omitted disbursing money to herself in annual financial reports that she filed with the Secretary of Labor for three consecutive years. In September 2022, DeStefano transferred $8,500 from her account into the union bank account and resigned her position with the union.
Judge Haines scheduled sentencing for January 19, 2027. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to five years in prison, a fine of the greater of $10 million or twice the gross pecuniary gain to DeStefano, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. By virtue of her felony conviction of embezzlement, DeStefano will be precluded from holding union office for a 13-year period.
Assistant United States Attorney Brendan J. McKenna is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Blair Township Police Department and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor- Management Standards conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of DeStefano.
