Suit seeks audit of union benefit plans

By David Waite
Advertiser Staff Writer

The state attorney general's office is suing the United Public Workers union and the Hawaii Government Employees Association in hopes of forcing the two organizations to allow an audit of their health, dental and group life insurance plans.

A lawsuit filed in circuit court yesterday by state deputy attorney general Hugh Jones contends that UPW and HGEA officials have refused to provide the records needed to perform the audit.

Jones said in the lawsuit that the state comptroller's office notified all public employee organizations that their welfare benefit plans were going to be audited. Eleven other organizations that represent public workers in Hawai'i did not object to the audit, according to the lawsuit.

The decision to conduct the audit came on the heels of a superceding federal indictment lodged in December against UPW leader Gary Rodrigues, who was accused of diverting health and dental plan monies for his own use and of accepting kickbacks from one of the benefit plan providers, according to the lawsuit.

Rodrigues is awaiting trial scheduled for later this year in federal court.