In a last-minute motion, a former president of a union representing nearly 500 Greater Dayton RTA drivers and employees asked Monday to reschedule his trial instead of pleading “guilty” to a charge of stealing from the union he once led.

Claude Huff had been expected Monday to change his earlier plea of “not guilty” to a charge of stealing union assets to “guilty” in U.S. District Court in Dayton.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Rose ruled that the motion was “well-founded,” but he also warned Huff and his attorney, Richard Skelton, that there would be no more continuances.

“This will be the last continuance of this trial,” Rose said.

A status conference was set for Aug. 13, and a new trial date was set for 9 a.m. Sept. 4. If no new arrangements were agreed upon in the status meeting, “That will be the trial date,” Rose told Skelton and Huff, who stood before Rose.

Huff said “Yes, sir,” when Rose asked him if he agreed to the continuance and understood that he had a constitutional right to a speedy trial.

“We are hopeful to get this resolved in the next several weeks,” Skelton told Rose.

Huff’s alleged crime led to U.S. Department of Labor investigators seizing five years of financial records from the local’s office early last year. It also led to the international union taking control of the local union for well over a year, control which has since ended.

Outside of court, both Skelton and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dwight Keller declined to comment.