NEW ROCHELLE, NY — John Earvin, 67, of New Rochelle, NY was arrested this morning by federal agents and charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Earvin will be arraigned later today in Manhattan federal court before Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein. The case has been assigned to Judge Paul A. Engelmayer. The Indictment also seeks forfeiture of crime proceeds.
Earvin is the President of TriJohn Security located in New Rochelle. TriJohn does private investigation work and teaches courses including security guard training for state security licenses, private investigator training, loss prevention training and fire guard training. Many New Rochelle School District security guards have gotten their recertification through TriJohn.
Earvin, a Marine, worked as a Special Inspector for the Metropolitan Transity Authority. Earvin worked as a security guard for the New Rochelle Board of Education and rencetly retired from The College of New Rochelle where he worked as a security guard.
In 2011, Earvin sought and obtained the Republican nomination for City Council for District 3. He was defeated in the general election by Jared Rice who had won a special election the year before to fill out the unexpired term of Council Member James Stowe who passed away unexpectedly in 2010.
Earvin, known among friends and co-workers, as an active gambler.
“He loved the ponies,” said one former work colleague who asked not to be identified.
Earvin, a former MTA union president, is alleged to have engaged in a fraudulent scheme to embezzle funds from the United Federation of Law Enforcement Officers. The UFLEO represents Special Inspectors employed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York.
According to a statement released by Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Andriana Vamvakas, the New York District Director of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor‑Management Standards, Earvin stole money over a period of years:
“From February 2007 through April 2010, Earvin was the Union’s president, supervising the affairs of the Union and managing the Union’s finances, including through sole control of the Union’s bank account. Through his presidency, Earvin allegedly perpetrated a scheme to defraud the Union by diverting Union dues payments deposited into the Account for his own benefit, principally by making hundreds of ATM withdrawals at off-track betting facilities and other locations and making personal use of the funds. In furtherance of the scheme, and to prevent its discovery, Earvin, as alleged, repeatedly lied to Union members about the Account by, for example, claiming that he could not provide an accounting of funds to Union members because an independent auditor was reviewing the Union’s finances. As a result of the scheme, Earvin is accused of defrauding the Union and its members of approximately $48,012.”
The United Federation of Law Enforcement Officers is a small union responsible for MTA summonses for fare evasion and vandalism. At the time Earvin was President the UFLEO had just 30 members.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carrie H. Cohen and Jennifer Gachiri are in charge of the prosecution.
The charge contained in the Indictment is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.