Misspent Boilermakers Union Purchases Auctioned Off

SWISSVALE (KDKA) - It was time Saturday for the Boilermakers union to recoup some lost funds.

Hundreds of items illegally purchased with union dollars by former president Ray Ventrone went on the auction block. He has never given a reason for purchasing the products.

"What a waste there's like 20 other bedroom sets here, how much does one person need," Wendy McCue said.

Several hundred people showed up with another 400 or so bidding online. Some of the high end consumer goods included washers, dryers, living room sets, flat screen TVs, a drum set worth $10,000, office furniture and a variety of fitness equipment.

Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter

"You could furnish a couple of nightclubs, a couple of houses and a gym and a music studio," Marty Davis said.

It appeared that good deals were plentiful. Darlene Atwater had a winning bid on a gently used spin bike.

"I ended up getting the bike for $600 and like I said a brand new one is $1,800," she said.

Proceeds will go back to the Boilermakers union.

"For their retirement and to keep the union going strong, I feel so bad that somebody took all that money they worked so hard for," McCue said.

It's estimated that Ray Ventrone's abuse of funds cost the union $3 million. He's expected to plead guilty to embezzlement and tax evasion and a federal judge could order him to pay just under $1.5 million in restitution.