WASHINGTON — A D.C. Department of Corrections officer was arrested Monday, accused of embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from his own labor union.
Andra Parker, 64, of Capitol Heights, was charged with wire fraud in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in D.C., according to U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves.
He was arrested Monday morning at the District’s Central Detention Facility.
Parker served as chairman of the D.C. Department of Corrections Labor Committee between June 2018 and May 2019, a labor organization that represents all members of the D.C. Department of Corrections.
Charging documents claim Parker had full access as chairman to the Labor Committee’s bank accounts and was issued a debit card. He's accused of defrauding the Labor Committee by using Committee funds to pay for personal travel, lodging and entertainment expenses.
One example the U.S. Attorney's Office gave claimed Parker spent more than $7,000 on a trip to New York City for his friends and himself, including $4,000 on rooms and expenses at a Times Square hotel, more than $370 on tickets to a New York Knicks game, and an additional $616 on tickets to "Summer: The Donna Summer Musical."
Ahead of that trip, Parker reportedly reached out to an organization that was holding diversity and inclusion education and training in New York. However, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Parker was told the training was full 10 days before booking the trip anyway.
Parker had his first court appearance Monday afternoon.