FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                   CIV
FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 1995                                      (202) 616-2765
                                                         TDD (202) 514-1888

                                     
     RUBBERMAID, WASHINGTON, D.C., FIRM AGREE TO $1 MILLION SETTLEMENT

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Rubbermaid Commercial Products Inc., a
major company in the service products industry, will pay the
United States $887,000 to settle allegations it overcharged the
government $5.5 million for products it sold to federal agencies,
the Department of Justice announced today.  Lewis & Sons Inc. of
Washington, D.C., Rubbermaid's sales representative, also will
pay the United States $113,000 as part of the settlement.
     Assistant Attorney General Frank Hunger of the Civil
Division said the settlement resolves charges brought against
Rubbermaid, based in Winchester, Va., by a former employee, Ned
Miller, who filed a complaint against the company under the qui
tam provisions of the False Claim Act in U.S. District Court in
Harrisonburg, Va., in 1993.  The government intervened in
November 1993.
     According to the complaint, Rubbermaid and Lewis & Sons
failed to tell contract negotiators for the General Services
Administration that Rubbermaid gave its customers discounts
larger than those it disclosed to the government, resulting in
higher prices for federal agencies.  The contract solicitations
and federal law required Rubbermaid to provide accurate
information to the government negotiators.  
     From 1984 through 1992, Rubbermaid won 16 federal contracts
with a total value of about $5.5 million to furnish federal
agencies with food service and cleaning products, waste baskets
and trash bins.
     Under the agreement, Miller will receive $185,000.  Under
the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, a private party
can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a
portion of the settlement if the government takes over the case
and prosecutes it successfully.
     The case was investigated by the GSA's Office of Inspector
General and the Civil Division, which negotiated the settlement.
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