The News obtained CSEA internal correspondence and copies of nine checks written by William Shurter, former president of CSEA Local 059, which represents about 200 full-time employees of the state Olympic Regional Development Authority.

The checks, dated from Nov. 11, 2007 to Oct. 26, 2008, range in amount from $700 to $4,200 and were made out to Shurter and appear to be signed by him and the Local 059 treasurer at the time, Brian Todd. One check dated Dec. 20, 2007 in the amount of $1,400 contains a memo: for “contract party.”

“Our contract ended March 31,” said ORDA employee Brian Keough in a phone conversation on Wednesday. “(Shurter) wrote the check to himself; we never had a contract party.”

Shurter was asked to resign from his position in October 2008 and was replaced by then-Vice President Kevin Kleffman. Todd resigned last week, according to Kleffman.

Shurter has not returned phone calls from the Enterprise about this story.

Last month, CSEA Internal Auditor David Knutti wrote Todd, requesting documentation of the expenditures and receipts, and confirmation of Todd’s signature on the checks. Todd pleaded ignorance in an undated response letter, saying, “Since I was young I have always been horrible with math.” He said he signed blank checks over to Shurter and did not keep records of the expenditures, at Shurter’s request.

“When I got the position, Bill Schurter (sic) would not let me have the checkbooks or any of the records,” Todd stated in the letter. “I never saw any of it. He had told me he would hold on to it temporarily then get everything up to date, and when the time was right he would show me everything. This never happened. In fact, Mr. Schurter never submitted any minutes showing I was the union treasurer.

“When I signed the checks, the payee and the amount were never on the checks. … I never reviewed any receipts or documentation of any kind since it was never given to me.“

Todd wrote that he discovered the problem after a fellow union member asked him to check the bank records about a golf outing “for a select few people.

“Eventually I got tired of hearing about it and went to the bank and requested the records as well as copies of the cashed checks. Upon reviewing the documents, I was alarmed and scared of what I had discovered. I didn’t know what to do. The first check I noticed was for a contract party that never occurred … then I noticed the obvious … all the checks were made out to Mr. Schurter (sic).”

Todd said he initially thought he could not report his findings to Kleffman because Kleffman was “considered buddy-buddy” with Shurter, but he changed his mind after consulting a fellow ORDA employee. Todd wrote that Kleffman reviewed the documents and said he would contact the CSEA’s statewide treasurer about the matter. Todd wrote that he later tried to get updates on the situation from Kleffman but was denied.

Todd closed his letter by saying he and his fellow Local 059 members would like to see police get involved in the case.

“There are a lot of angry, betrayed people who would like to see this happen, as he stole from all of us,” he wrote.

On Wednesday, Todd confirmed to the News that he wrote all the details of the letter and still feels angry at Shurter about the situation.

Other ORDA-employed union members say no explanation has been given to them since the audit began in November. Now they’re demanding answers.

“Nothing’s been said; it seems like it’s all being dusted under the rug,” said Local 059 member and former president Thom Borden. “If that was me, my picture would be on the front page of the paper. This guy (Shurter) is going around whistling.”

Kleffman said he didn’t ask Shurter to explain what happened to the money.

“I’ll be honest. I’m now the president, and I didn’t ask him,” he said. “I’m not sure if headquarters asked him, but there are no charges, and we’re not expecting any, either.

“He’s done a lot of good for the union,” he said in a second phone conversation. “This situation could have happened to anyone.“

Kleffman called the Enterprise managing editor Wednesday and asked that the paper not publish this story since police have not charged Shurter and he does not deserve to have his reputation damaged. Kleffman said Shurter will probably pay the union back for the missing money, and even if he doesn’t, the money is insured under bond and that the union’s loss would ultimately be restored.

Stephan Madarasz, the spokesman for CSEA headquarters in Albany, said any illegal action will be punished.

“When we have incidents, when money is embezzled, we have a pretty good track record of dealing with it,” Madarasz said. “As a general proposition, if an allegation gets made, we do investigate it. That includes auditing the books. There are a number of examples of individuals that may have taken improper actions, and what happens, invariably, is we turn them over to the proper authorities and they are held accountable.”

Enterprise Staff Writer

Emily Hunkler and Managing Editor Peter Crowley

contributed to this report.