CINCINNATI — Two leaders of a union representing Cincinnati Metro employees were accused of “severe financial misconduct and ethical violations” in an October complaint from “concerned members” of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 627.
The two-page “formal complaint and request for oversight” was sent to leaders of the union’s international affiliate, Hamilton County Commissioners and Cincinnati City Council on Oct. 22.
Our I-Team received the complaint anonymously and authenticated the document by talking to local union members who confirmed they’d seen it and discussed its content at union meetings.
By distributing the complaint to others, union members made it more likely to spark a criminal investigation, according to Ralph Kohnen, a Taft Law partner who worked as a federal prosecutor before launching the firm’s white-collar defense practice 19 years ago.
“It’s in the public domain,” Kohnen said. “That, if nothing else, will prompt investigators from the Department of Labor, and potentially from the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, to look into this.”
WATCH: We looked into the complaint and talked to Kohnen what might happen next
Our I-Team has been looking into the allegations since late September, when the union’s international affiliate placed Local 627 in trusteeship for “the disbursement of local union funds without adequate financial controls” and other concerns.
In its most recent annual report to the U.S. Department of Labor, Local 627 said it had 1,072 active members and 182 retired members.
Cincinnati Metro has said the trusteeship will have no impact on the bus system’s operations, but academic research has shown the loss of local autonomy can make unions less effective at serving their members.
That’s why most trusteeships are limited to 18 months, unless the parent union demonstrates that more time is needed to solve problems that led to a takeover.
The union’s initial trusteeship report said Local 627 “was placed in temporary trusteeship for issues including the failure to file audit reports with the International Union; the failure to meet financial obligations; the disbursement of local union funds without adequate financial controls; a failure to observe democratic procedures, especially those governing the expenditure of local union funds; and the failure to comply with the Bylaws of Local 627 and the ATU Constitution and General Laws.”
In a September interview, ATU International Vice President Gary Johnson Jr. declined to detail specific allegations that were being investigated.
But union members told our I-Team that Johnson provided those details at a union meeting, and that's how they found their way into the October complaint.
The complaint alleges Local 627 President Frank Harper and Treasurer Inga McGlothin “repeatedly charged personal expenses to union credit cards, including "$13,558 worth of Apple store purchases, $43,000 in restaurant charges and 24 active devices billed to the union” that cost nearly $9,000 in 2025.
The complaint also alleges an unspecified amount of union funds paid for “travel upgrades, first-class flights, hotel charges, clothing and personal subscriptions.”
The Facebook post below shows McGlothin and Harper pictured receiving awards for their leadership.
The complaint also alleges Harper hired a consulting firm owned by his children, Harper Consulting LLC, without the approval of the union’s executive board. State records show Harper Consulting was formed by Jasmine and Jerrel Harper in June 2025.
Harper Consulting LLC was paid $10,600 before the board objected in June, according to the complaint. Then, Harper’s daughter allegedly “invoiced the union for $27,000 in ‘digitization’ work.”
Our I-Team tried to reach McGlothin, Harper and Harper’s children for comment. They did not return calls and emails as of Tuesday evening.
Kohnen said investigators would look for evidence that union leaders enriched themselves with spending that did not benefit union members.
They might also verify that no pension money was accessed by union leaders and check whether they paid taxes on spending that union directly benefited them, Kohnen said.
“If the evidence is strong and the federal prosecutors don’t have any interest, the county prosecutor or the Ohio Attorney General’s office is going to be interested in it,” Kohnen said. “If these allegations prove to be true, I would be very surprised if they didn’t result in a prosecution somewhere.”
According to the union’s initial trusteeship notice, Local 627 had negative net assets of -$48,159 on Sept. 24 this year, down from $51,250 at the end of 2024. The biggest difference on its balance sheet was an accounts payable total of $66,159, compared to zero in December 2024, according to its annual report to the U.S. Department of Labor.
That report showed Harper was paid $130,386 in 2024, which is $19,000 more than his predecessor, Troy Miller, was paid in 2022. McGlothin was paid $107,300 in 2024, according to the report.
The union’s annual reports to the labor department show Local 627 revenue jumped 65% to $1.1 million between 2022 and 2024, driven by a 27% increase in monthly dues to $100 and a 35% increase in the number of active members to 856.
Disbursements grew by 69% during the same period, reaching $1.2 million in 2024.
The increased spending drained the union’s cash reserves, which fell from $60,113 at the end of 2023 to $17,431 on Sept. 24.
