On March 4, the man formerly responsible for a union local over 300 strong will answer to 14 counts of theft and misappropriation of funds.

Detective Sergeant Shawn Evans of the OPP anti-rackets section confirmed yesterday that Terry Curtis, former president of Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local 305, has been charged with seven counts of theft under $5,000 and seven counts of misappropriation of money held under direction, not exceeding $5,000.

Curtis, 61, worked for the Town of Bracebridge for 27 years where he was employed as the facility manager for arenas until he opted for early retirement at the beginning of January. For 20 years, he was also the president of Local 305, which represents area workers from the Town of Bracebridge, the Pines Long Term-Care Residence, James Street Place and Community Living South Muskoka.

Evans said the investigation into Curtis’s alleged activities as a local president began in November 2006.

“We received a couple of complaints from members of the local,” said Evans. “There had been concerns over the finances for some time and the local made a decision to ask the police to investigate.”

The intake office of the OPP anti-rackets section in Orillia decided to take the case, and the investigation was assigned to Evans.

“We interviewed quite a few local people, and issued quite a few orders to get records,” he said. “We had a significant delay in getting some financial documents from one financial institution. That caused us about a six-month delay, otherwise we would have been done before now.”

Evans’ investigation dealt specifically with the period between January 2002 and June 2006, wherein Curtis is alleged to have taken roughly $30,000 of union money for personal use.

“The OPSEU local receives money from the head office, a percentage of the union dues which is called rebate cheques. That money is for the local to run itself. The allegation is that Mr. Curtis has taken that money,” said Evans. “The misappropriation charge deals with using money in a way which was not a legitimate trade union purpose. There are certain expectations from OPSEU about what that money will be used for, and it wasn’t used that way.”

Evans would not comment on how the money was allegedly obtained from the local fund by Curtis.

Contacted yesterday morning, Curtis said he was not aware that he had been charged. He said he will seek legal advice before deciding what to do next.

“Until I hear from the police then there isn’t much I can say,” said Curtis. “I’ll wait for legal advice and do whatever they tell me to do. I just want to get this whole mess straightened out and get on with my retirement.”

David Cox, OPSEU communications officer, said locals typically have a number of checks and balances to prevent theft, including multiple signing authorities and regular audits.

The amount of money provided in rebate cheques from head office varies between locals, said Cox, depending on their size and expenses.

The OPSEU constitution states, “all expenditures shall be by cheque and shall be properly supported by vouchers . . . except for reasonable amounts in petty cash accounts.”

Cox said OPSEU has no comment on the specifics of the Curtis case at this time.