A Mississippi man was sentenced to almost four years in prison on Thursday for embezzling union funds.

Danny Woodcock, age 66, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock following his guilty plea to Embezzlement of Union Funds in violation of Title 29, United States Code, Section 501(c).

Judge Aycock sentenced Woodcock to serve 46 months imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release and ordered Woodcock to pay $519,963.04 in restitution to Communication Workers of America – 83770.

Woodcock served as the president of the CWA Local 83770 for approximately 15 years until his removal in October 2016.  CWA Local 83770 has approximately 300 to 400 members who are employed primarily as aircraft mechanics, structural specialists and other maintenance personnel with L3 Vertex Aerospace, LLC, a contractor operating on the Columbus Air Force Base in Columbus, Mississippi.

Woodcock used his position as president to embezzle and convert to his own use the funds of CWA Local 83770, often times transferring or depositing union funds directly into his personal bank account for his own personal use.

Chad Lamar, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi, acknowledged the importance of this case and the sentence imposed after Thursday afternoon’s hearing.

“This case is a sad example of honest workers being defrauded by someone whom they trusted to speak for them and represent their best interests. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will work to help ensure that we hold accountable those individuals who would cheat and betray the very people they have been entrusted to represent.”