GM said in a statement it was disturbed by the charges involving Mr. Ashton, and the company wasn’t aware of the alleged illegal conduct. Mr. Jones hasn’t been charged and his attorney said he took voluntary leave and didn’t face pressure to do so. Mr. Ashton is also the second former UAW vice president to be charged in the investigation, which first became public in 2017 and had initially focused on misuse of UAW training-center funds at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV. In exchange for arranging the contract, Mr. Ashton, along with two other UAW officials, accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and kickbacks from the chiropractor, prosecutors alleged. A number of mid-level and top ranking UAW officials, two of which were close associates of Mr. Jones, have already been charged or convicted in the criminal probe.

Source: Wall Street Journal November 06, 2019 16:00 UTC