Ex-air control union officer sentenced

The former head of the air traffic controllers union in Memphis was sentenced to four months in federal prison for stealing more than $45,000 in union funds.

Perry Dino Martini of Bartlett pleaded guilty in March to forging checks to himself from the account of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association in 2008.

He also used a union business credit card for personal expenses, according to the charges.

Martini, 56, initially made restitution of $ 47,127.53, but a subsequent audit showed some of the charges could have been legitimate union expenses. He was given credit after the final amount was placed at $45,546.40.

U. S. Dist. Judge S. Thomas Anderson sentenced him to four months in prison, with three years of supervised release, including three months of home confinement.

Martini, who was an air traffic controller for some 25 years, has no prior criminal record and has accepted responsibility for his mistake, said defense attorney Arthur Quinn, who had asked for probation for his client.

Larry Buser