The former chairman of United Transportation Union 325 in Duluth was sentenced Tuesday to three months in prison and will have to pay $78,000 in fines and restitution.
Edward G. Kobe, 61, of Duluth was sentenced in Minneapolis by U.S. District Court Judge Patrick Schiltz.
In addition to the prison sentence, Kobe must pay a $30,000 fine and nearly $48,000 in restitution. He was charged Nov. 12 and pleaded guilty Nov. 30, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minneapolis.
In his plea agreement, Kobe admitted embezzling union funds from 2005 through 2006 for personal use. He got the money by falsely representing to union officials that he was authorized to receive monthly payments for his rental housing in addition to his monthly compensation.
Kobe also admitted receiving $32,778.30 in disability payments in 2005 and 2006 while he was being paid by $1,200 per month by the union, a violation of disability rules. Kobe was accused of falsely telling the railroad board that he was donating his time to the union when he was actually being paid.
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Kobe was the union's general chairman from the early 1990s to 2006.
