Ex-Teamsters Official Fined in Funds Misuse

The former head of Ventura-based Teamsters Local 186 has been fined $1,300 and banned from employment with the union for three months because of his misuse of funds, officials said Tuesday.

Former secretary-treasurer Scott Dennison spent $1,300 to travel to a 1994 union convention in Chicago without first securing approval of the local’s executive board, Teamsters General President Ron Carey said in a prepared statement.

Dennison had contended that the board automatically approved the expenditure by reviewing reports on which it was listed, according to Carey’s statement.

But Carey noted that the reports did not specify that the expenses were for the Chicago convention. He also said the minutes from past meetings of the executive board show that while Dennison’s expenditures were discussed, there was never any formal agreement that the union would reimburse him.

Dennison, who was removed as secretary-treasurer of the local in November, could not be reached for comment.

The local, which represents nearly 2,000 workers in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, has been turned over to a temporary trustee to restore its financial stability.