FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                   CIV
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1994                                   (202) 616-2765
                                                         TDD (202) 514-1888

                                     
           GSA CONTRACTOR SETTLES CONTRACT DISPUTE FOR $550,000


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The federal government is getting
$550,000 from a manufacturer of flexible highway signs who it
says failed to give Uncle Sam the big discounts it was giving
state and local governments.
     In a settlement announced today, the Department of Justice
said Carsonite International of Carson City, Nevada, gave some
purchasers discounts ranging up to 59 percent, but gave the
federal government a price break of only 30 percent.
     An audit by the General Services Administration's Office of
Inspector General revealed that discount information submitted by
the company when contracts were negotiated inaccurately reflected
Carsonite's pricing practices.  Between 1984 and 1987, GSA
negotiated the purchase of $7 million worth of flexible highway,
utility and recreational signs and posts from Carsonite which
made them from a patented plastic composite that let the signs
spring back in place even if they were run over by a vehicle.
     Assistant Attorney General Frank W. Hunger, in charge of the
Civil Division, said the payment resolves allegations that the
company submitted misleading pricing and discount information. 
Government regulations require contractors to disclose accurate,
complete and current information about prices and discounts given
to commercial customers and state and local governments to ensure
that federal taxpayers are not overcharged.
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