A 42-year-old Corpus Christi resident pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $280,000 from a local steelworkers labor union. Robert Cirilo, former president of the United Steelworkers Local 13-1647 in the Texas Gulf Coast city, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of embezzlement from a labor organization. According to an announcement on Monday by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei, Cirilo will face sentencing in August.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, Cirilo was initially arrested in August 2024 and charged in an indictment with 13 separate charges of wire fraud and one charge of embezzlement from a labor organization after an internal union investigation discovered evidence of the theft of union funds.
An investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards revealed that Cirilo had executed a scheme that for three years drained funds through cash withdrawals from several union-controlled bank accounts and by using union debit cards to syphon the labor organization’s funds for personal use. The initial indictment alleges Cirilo carried out the theft scheme between 2021 and 2024. The indictment lists several fraudulent transactions, including ATM withdrawals for cash amounts ranging from $500 to more than $6,000.
According to court documents, Cirilo concealed his theft by lying to union members, saying hackers were responsible for the missing funds. After additional questioning during the investigation, Cirilo admitted he was responsible for taking the missing funds. During his plea hearing, Cirilo acknowledged his embezzlement scheme resulted in the theft of more than $287.000 from United Steelworkers’ coffers.
U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos will impose sentencing on August 12, 2025. Cirilo faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine for wire fraud and up to five years and a possible $10,000 fine on the embezzlement count.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
