This is a very distressing story out of Los Angeles:

L.A. County Labor Chief May Quit in Funds Probe
By Patrick McGreevy and Steve Hymon, Times Staff Writers

Former Los Angeles City Councilman Martin Ludlow is considering stepping down as head of an influential and politically active labor group and is weighing a plea bargain with prosecutors investigating the alleged misuse of union money in his 2003 campaign for the council, associates and sources said Thursday.

Union officials seemed stunned as word circulated that Ludlow might face criminal charges. Only last summer, he resigned his council post to became executive secretary-treasurer — the top staff position — of the powerful Los Angeles County Federation of Labor upon the sudden death of his union mentor, Miguel Contreras.

Though I’ve never met Ludlow, I had heard nothing but good things about him as a labor leader with a progressive vision. This would be a blow to the labor movement in L.A.

The rest of the story is here.