Ex-union leader's daughter receives 46-month sentence

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Robin Rodrigues Sabatini, who was convicted last year along with her father on federal charges, was sentenced yesterday to 46 months behind bars in a hearing dominated by her father's reputation as a strong-willed labor leader.

Sabatini, 39, a Kaua'i accountant and daughter of the former state director of the United Public Workers, Gary Rodrigues, was allowed to remain free while the case is appealed. U.S. District Judge David Ezra said the appeal process could take nearly two years.

Sabatini was convicted of 95 criminal counts in November 2002. She was found guilty of mail fraud resulting from her father's embezzlement of union money.

Rodrigues was convicted of engineering a scheme that funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to companies owned by Sabatini for consulting work that prosecutors said was never done. He was sentenced in October to five years in federal prison and is free pending his appeal.

Any prison time for Sabatini will be followed by three years of supervised release, Ezra ordered. She also must join her father in paying $377,503.63 in restitution to the 12,000-member UPW.

During the hearing, Ezra spoke often of the union leader, noting several times that it was a tragedy for a father to involve his daughter in a crime.

"I think, on a human level, it's a very sad case," Ezra said.

When defense attorney Victor Bakke argued that his client had played a minor role, Ezra said Rodrigues may have "masterminded" the scheme, but Sabatini was "the linchpin."

Ezra said Sabatini was well-aware of what was happening, and "took huge amounts of money."

"She's not Little Bo Peep here," Ezra said. "She was an active participant ... beyond a reasonable doubt."

Sabatini sat quietly during the sentencing and did not address the court. She left the courtroom in tears and had no comment. Her father did not attend.

The prosecution said during the trial last year that Rodrigues had negotiated medical and dental insurance plans on behalf of UPW members and got the insurance providers to refund a percentage of the premiums so the union could hire a consultant to evaluate the plans.

According to the prosecution, the union boss never told the union's members or board of directors that the first to receive a portion of the consulting fees was his ex-girlfriend's stepfather, and that the fees later were funneled to two companies owned by Sabatini.

Prosecutors claimed that Sabatini received hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting fees for doing little or no work, and channeled some of the money back to Rodrigues and other members of the family.

Rodrigues' lawyer argued during the trial that it was not a crime for the union leader to hire his daughter as a consultant or to fail to inform union members or directors.

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012.