The United Public Workers executive committee said Thursday that it questions the timing of a federal grand jury's indictment against union leader Gary Rodrigues.

Rodrigues and his daughter, Robin Haunani Rodrigues Sabatini, were indicted Wednesday on 43 counts including fraud, embezzlement and money laundering.

UPW attorney Robert Miller told KITV4 News that the indictment appears to be calculated to interfere with legislation for the 15,000 member union.

"We've cooperated with the government for the last three years and provided them with thousands of pages of documents and you'll note that from the indictment that there's no issues as it relates to the internal workings of the union," Miller said.

Rodrigues was accused of charging union members an unannounced fee for medical and dental coverage, and then funneling those fees to his daughter.

Federal authorities claimed that Rodrigues and his daughter bilked at least $200,000 from UPW members.

UPW executive committee members said Thursday that they support Rodrigues and point to a recent audit that indicates all financial matters for the union are in order.

Previous Story:

• March 7, 2001: Rodrigues Target Of 43-Count Indictment