A Harford County councilmember is charged with stealing thousands of dollars from an electrical workers’ union local that he led, according to court records.
Dion Guthrie, 86, is a Democrat representing District A on the Harford County Council. He is accused of stealing $1,500 and $25,000 from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1501 in Cockeysville between Oct. 1, 2017, and Sept. 30, 2021, according to charging documents filed in Baltimore County.
Online court records don’t yet list a court date. Guthrie and his attorney did not respond immediately to phone calls seeking comment Tuesday morning. IBEW Local 1501 officials could not be reached immediately for comment.
Guthrie served on the county council from 2006 to 2014 before he was re-elected in 2022 for his current term.
Baltimore County Assistant State’s Attorney Adam Lippe said Guthrie had agreed to pay about $23,000 in restitution to the union local where he previously served as president and business manager as part of a plea deal. Guthrie was issued a criminal summons and will not be arrested.
The case started with an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, Lippe said, after the local faced financial struggles and officials from the union’s international office took it over.
Lippe said Guthrie used a corporate American Express card to pay expenses like condo fees and homeowner’s association fees, and also transferred money from the local’s health and welfare fund into the general fund.
“I hope he finds remorse by the time of the plea,” Lippe said. “I appreciate the fact that the union members will be made whole in some part.”
According to an online biography, Guthrie is a Joppatowne resident who has lived in Harford County for more than fifty years. He is married and is a great-grandfather.
