Postal Union Treasurer Convicted After Stealing Over $100K From Members

On November 24, 2025, Kathleen Rita Kaplan — a 15-year Secretary-Treasurer of American Postal Workers Union Local 7136 in Bradenton, Florida — was sentenced after pleading no contest to two first-degree felonies, including grand theft of $100,000 or more and fraudulent use of personal identification information exceeding $50,000 under Florida Statutes 812.014(2a) and 817.568(2c), following a multi-agency investigation by the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Labor-Management Standards, and Florida state prosecutors. Between 2019 and 2023, Kaplan systematically siphoned funds from the chapter's Bank of America account through forged checks made payable to herself and unauthorized Zelle transfers to her personal accounts, all while reporting to members that the union held approximately $178,000 in reserves. When Kaplan lost her re-election bid in June 2023 and newly elected union leaders accessed the account, they found a balance of approximately $5,000. Circuit Judge Matt Whyte sentenced Kaplan to 366 days in state prison followed by 120 months of community control with GPS monitoring and 323 months of probation, with $230,000 in restitution — already paid in full before sentencing. Kaplan is permanently barred from handling money for others or holding elected office. The chapter's depleted accounts left the Manatee County postal worker membership without the financial infrastructure their union dues were meant to build and protect. Disclaimer: This video is a dramatization based on real events. Some visual content was created with artificial intelligence assistance. Some details have been fictionalized and all names have been changed to protect the privacy of those involved.