By Dorothy Rowley
AFRO Staff Writer
Barbara A. Bullock was slated for release on Nov. 4, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. (Courtesy Photo)
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(November 4, 2009) - Barbara A. Bullock, the former Washington Teachers' Union president who was sentenced to a nine-year prison term after admitting in 2003 that she embezzled millions from the union, was slated for release on Nov. 4, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Bullock was sent to federal prison in Alderson, W. Va., six years ago, where under recommendation of sentencing guidelines, she was to serve some seven years. Afterward, she would fall under the one-year custody of a Washington, D.C.-area halfway facility.
At the time of her admission of guilt in the scandal that shook the integrity of the teachers union, Bullock also let on that she hadn’t filed a tax return in 20 years, according to news accounts at the time.
Bullock and her close allies – many of whom were also in WTU positions of trust – reportedly ripped off the union for nearly $5 million in a scheme that was said to be run like a candy store. The embezzlement went on for a seven-year period from 1995 to 2002, and was brought to light after the release of an audit by WTU’s parent organization, the American Federation of Teachers.
Bullock, who was described during the trial as an “out of control spendthrift,” increased WTU dues to support her crime. Reports stated that she used a lot of the stolen funds – in the form of WTU treasury and credit cards – to finance extravagant spending sprees at high end stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Nieman Marcus.