FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AT
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1997                       (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888


        CLEVELAND EXPLOSIVES COMPANY EXECUTIVE INDICTED IN
      PRICE FIXING CONSPIRACY IN KENTUCKY, ILLINOIS, INDIANA


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A federal grand jury today indicted
David P. True, an executive of the Cleveland-based explosives
manufacturer Austin Powder Company, for participating in a
criminal conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids on commercial
explosives sold in Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana, the Justice
Department said.

     Thus far, 13 explosives manufacturers and distributors, and
three executives--including Austin Powder and one other Austin
Powder manager--have pleaded guilty to similar conspiracies in
the Department's ongoing antitrust investigation of the
explosives industry.  Including today's fine, the violations have
resulted in an industry-wide total of nearly $40 million in
criminal fines. 

     With approximately $1 billion in sales in the U.S.,
commercial explosives are primarily used in the mining,
construction, and oil and gas industries.

     The one-count indictment, filed in U.S. District Court in 
Owensboro, Kentucky, charges True with conspiring with other
competitors between the fall of 1988 and sometime in 1993 to fix
prices, allocate customers, and rig bids on certain commercial
explosives offered for sale in portions of western Kentucky,
southern Illinois, and southern Indiana. 
 
     As part of the conspiracy, the indictment also charged that
True and other competitors discussed and agreed to increase a
surcharge to certain purchasers of drilling, loading and blasting
services from 3 percent to 4.5 percent.

     True has been Austin Powder's vice president and general
manager since July 1988.

     Joel I. Klein, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the
Department's Antitrust Division said, "This case is another
example of our aggressive efforts to bring to justice those who
have undermined competition in this billion dollar industry."  

     The indictment is the result of an ongoing investigation
into the commercial explosives industry being conducted by the
Division's Litigation I Section with the assistance of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation.

     The maximum penalty for an individual convicted of a Sherman
Act violation committed after November 16, 1990, is three years
imprisonment and a fine of the greatest of $350,000, twice the
pecuniary gain the individual derived from the crime, or twice
the pecuniary loss suffered by the victims of the crime.
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97-365