Courtesy of Portsmouth Herald staff
A former Portsmouth Naval Shipyard union president faces jail time after pleading guilty to federal charges of embezzling over $10,000 and using a union debit card to pay tabs at multiple Kittery, Maine, businesses.
Kyle Chasse, 38, pleaded guilty to 13 charges — a dozen counts of wire fraud and a single charge of false written statements — on June 26 in Portland, Maine, federal court. He was head of Ironworkers Local 745, according to a union official.
Chasse picked up bills at Loco Coco’s Tacos and the Corner Pub in Kittery on multiple occasions. He additionally made payments at Springvale Publick House, the Milk Room in Waterboro and the Lowe’s store in Sanford, according to the federal indictment.
The indictments state Chasse emailed false expense reports to the international union, attaching “documents containing false explanations for certain cash withdrawals and debit purchases he made as part of the scheme to defraud.” The indictment also states Chasse falsified local union meeting minutes to show the local union had authorized the expenses, even though the meetings were never held.
The false written statements charge alleged Chasse filed an annual union report claiming he received no other disbursements or allowances from the union besides his $1,020 salary between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021.
“Chasse made false statements to cover up his fraudulent use of the funds,” according to a news release from the Maine U.S. Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the case. “These false statements included a union financial disclosure form filed with the federal government, in which Chasse misrepresented the amount of money he had received from the union.”
Chasse, a Farmington, NH, resident, was indicted in March. In early April, he pleaded not guilty to the 13 charges and was released on personal recognizance, but Chasse changed his plea and admitted guilt in Thursday’s proceedings.
Chasse could face upwards of 20 years in jail, a maximum fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty. He will be sentenced by a Maine federal judge after the U.S. Probation Office finishes a presentence report in his case.
Vincent Loconte, attorney for Chasse, could not be immediately reached for comment.
The U.S. Department of Labor investigated Chasse’s case.
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