Yuba City couple faces union theft sentencing

A former Yuba City plumbers union business manager and his wife are scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 21 in federal court in Sacramento for conspiring to misappropriate at least $120,000 in union funds.

Authorities maintain the duo used the funds to pay their mortgage as well as Victoria's Secret lingerie for $100.

Robert Lee Carr and Theresa Ann Carr between 2000 and 2009 used blank checks signed by the office manager, who was often away when union bills needed to be paid, to buy clothing, sporting goods, fishing equipment, meals and concert tickets.

"They have been convicted," Assistant US Attorney Samuel Wong said Friday. "They have not been sentenced."

Wong said a plea agreement by the couple in February was a "package deal" and required both entering guilty pleas.

The agreements call for Robert Carr to be sentenced to 30 months and Theresa Carr to three months.

They agreed to pay $120,000 in restitution to the Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 228 in Yuba City.

Robert Carr, who had been business manger for the union, said during his court appearance in Sacramento earlier this year that he was 57 and a retired steamfitter. Theresa Carr said she was 53 and raised six children.

She will serve her sentence first before her husband so that at least one parent can take care of the minor children, according to statements at the February court hearing.

Handwriting analysis established the Carrs endorsed many unauthorized checks, according to prosecutors.

Theresa Carr improperly prepared a $2,500 check issued to her husband as reimbursement for a fictitious political donation, according to the indictment filed against the couple.

A federal grand jury indicted the Carrs in 2009 in US District Court in Sacramento.

The couple faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

CONTACT Ryan McCarthy at rmccarthy@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4780. Find him on Facebook at /ADrmccarthy or on Twitter at @ADrmccarthy.