Tony Rutledge was head of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Local 5. Advertiser library photo

Eric Gill, head of Local 5, was not immediately available for comment and a union spokesman declined comment on Rutledge's announcement, saying Gill may react to the announcement later.

Rutledge said HERE's Public Review Board, a watchdog agency established by the national union in the wake of long-running federal probes into union corruption and mob ties, has "scheduled a hearing for this month into allegations that I have engaged in unethical practices."

Rutledge did not elaborate on the charges, other than to say "there are no charges that I personally benefited, or that union funds were lost or that any union member was denied their rights or privileges under my watch."

He said he believes national officials of HERE are pursuing the charges because of his campaign against the amount of union dues sent to the national union by Local 5 members.

Rutledge said he had been a member of Local 5 for 35 years. He was the secretary-treasurer of the local for 16 years and an international vice president of HERE for 30 years.

Rutledge and his son Aaron are under indictment on federal tax-evasion charges for allegedly skimming hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Waikiiki beach concession business. They have denied the charges.