-Caveat Lector-
May 05, 1999 19:18
FOCUS-Hoechst to pay $36 mln in price-fixing case
(Adds Justice Department comment, details in paragraphs 3, 8-9)
WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - German pharmaceutical and chemical company
Hoechst AG agreed to plead guilty to a 17-year conspiracy to fix prices of
sorbates, a type of food preservative, the U.S. Justice Department said on
Wednesday.
Sorbates are used primarily in cheese, dairy products, baked goods and
processed foods.
The department said Hoechst agreed to pay a $36 million fine for the
1979-1996 conspiracy, which it said involved other companies and affected
about $1 billion in U.S. commerce.
"This was an extraordinarily durable and long-lived international
conspiracy," said Gary R. Spratling, a deputy assistant U.S. attorney
general for criminal enforcement.
In October 1998, Eastman Chemical Co. , a U.S. producer of sorbates, pleaded
guilty in the same investigation and agreed to pay $11 million in fines, the
Justice Department said.
"The department will continue to seek out and prosecute all international
conspiracies that increase prices for consumers and unfairly impede free and
open competition in our market," said Joel Klein, the assistant attorney
general in charge of U.S. antitrust investigations.
In addition to the fine paid by Hoechst, Bernd Romahn, the former marketing
manager of the company's food ingredients business unit, agreed to pay a
fine of $250,000 for his role in the price-fixing scheme, the Justice
Department said.
As part of their plea agreements, Hoechst and Romahn have agreed to
cooperate with the ongoing U.S. investigation, the department said.
The company and its executive were charged with violating Section One of the
Sherman Act. For individuals, the maximum penalty for violation of the law
is three years in prison and $350,000, it said.
Officials at Hoechst and the Justice Department were not immediately
available for additional comment on the case.
_
PS the big conspiracies get away with bilions----but then they own the
press( and the government)
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