FORMER
EXECUTIVE OF WINDOW BLIND SLAT MANUFACTURING COMPANY AGREES
TO PLEAD GUILTY FOR ROLE INCONSPIRACY TO COMMIT WIRE FRAUD
WASHINGTON - A former
chief operating officer of a window blind slat manufacturing company has
agreed to plead guilty for his role in a conspiracy to defraud customers,
the Department of Justice announced today.
A criminal case filed
today in the U.S. District Court in Cleveland charged Todd M. Markey of
Houston with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his participation
in a scheme to defraud customers by secretly convincing competitors to
increase slat prices by 8 percent. "Slats" are the vertical
or horizontal louvers of window blinds that can be adjusted to let in
light.
Under the plea agreement, which is subject to court approval, Markey has
agreed to cooperate with the Department's investigation into collusive
activity in the window blind slat industry. He is the second defendant
to be charged in the investigation.
Under his plea agreement,
Markey faces a jail sentence of up to 16 months. The court will determine
the appropriate sentence to be imposed and whether to accept the plea
agreement.
"The public expects and is entitled to the benefit of a truly competitive
marketplace," said Thomas O. Barnett, Assistant Attorney General
in charge of the Department's Antitrust Division. "The Antitrust
Division will vigorously pursue those who conspire to defraud customers
by eliminating competition."
According to the
criminal charge, between about April 2002 and July 2002, Markey and his
co-conspirators carried out the conspiracy by:
- Agreeing to convince
competitors to secretly increase prices by 8 percent;
- Making and agreeing
on assignments to contact specific competitors; and
- Contacting competitors,
including by means of interstate telephone calls, to convince them to
take part in their price-fixing scheme.
Markey worked at
the same company as Mario Cadorette, who in April 2007 was indicted on
charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud for his role
in the same conspiracy with which Markey was charged. Cadorette was president
of the company and Markey reported to him.
The maximum penalty
for a count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C.
§ 371 is five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
Today's charge resulted
from an investigation of the slats industry by the Antitrust Division's
Cleveland field office with the assistance of the Cleveland and Houston
offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Anyone with information
concerning price fixing or related offenses in the window blind slat manufacturing
industry should contact the Cleveland field office of the Antitrust Division
at 216-687-8400 or the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Cleveland office
at 216-522-1400.
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