FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AT
THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 1995                         (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

      FORMER SALESMAN OF DISPLAY MATERIALS TO PHILIP MORRIS
                 CHARGED IN BID-RIGGING CONSPIRACY

   WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A former salesman at a Hauppauge, New
York, company was charged today with conspiring to rig bids on
Philip Morris Inc. advertising contracts worth millions of
dollars in New York City, the Department of Justice's Antitrust
Division announced.
   The conspiracy gave his company, Southern Container
Corporation, $10 million in contracts to supply Philip Morris
with "point-of-purchase" display materials used to advertise and
promote products in retail stores.
   The case is part of the Antitrust Division's ongoing 
investigation of bid-rigging, commercial bribery and tax-related
offenses in the display industry.  To date, five individuals and
one corporation have pleaded guilty to various federal charges as
a result of the investigation.
   The case filed in U.S. District Court in New York City
charged John E. Clemence of Short Hills, New Jersey, a salesman
at Southern Container, with participating in a bid-rigging
conspiracy that began as early as April 1986 and continued until
at least mid-1991.  The single count charged Clemence with
participating in a conspiracy to rig bids and allocate contracts
awarded by Philip Morris.   
   According to the charge, Clemence conspired with others to
designate the low bidder on the contracts, arrange for the
submission of higher, noncompetitive bids from other suppliers
and pay Philip Morris purchasing agents who assisted in the
scheme.
   Today's filing follows related cases the Department filed
against Louis T. Cappelli, a former purchasing agent at
Philip Morris, and Richard T. Billies and Sidney Rothenberg,
principals of AM-PM Sales Co. Inc.  The investigation was
prompted by Philip Morris, which is cooperating.
   Assistant Attorney General Anne K. Bingaman of the Antitrust
Division said the investigation is being conducted by the
Division's New York field office with the assistance of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service.
   The case filed today is the first to charge a supplier of
displays or parts of displays made of corrugated paper such as
pedestals and display bins.  Earlier cases involved suppliers of
displays mounted on cardboard.
   Anyone with information concerning bid-rigging, bribery or
fraud in the display industry may contact the New York Division
of the FBI at (212) 335-2700.
   The maximum penalty for an individual convicted of a
violation of the Sherman Act continuing after November 16, 1990,
is three years in prison and a fine not to exceed the greatest of
$350,000, twice the pecuniary gain the individual derived from
the crime or twice the pecuniary loss caused to the victims of
the crime.
                               ###
95-021