WASHINGTON, D.C. - A Texas residential door manufacturer was charged today with participating in a conspiracy to fix the prices of doors, the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division said today.

This is the second case filed as a result of the Antitrust Division's investigation into collusive practices in the $600 million residential door industry.

Steves & Sons Inc. of San Antonio, Texas, was charged with participating in a price fixing conspiracy for sales of residential flush doors to certain customers in the United States from January to December, 1993.

Residential flush doors are made of flat wood that can be covered with various types of door facings and are used primarily in residential basements, bedrooms and bathrooms. They are sold to U.S. door distributors and wholesalers, home improvement centers and residential construction companies.

"The Division is continuing its efforts to prosecute this criminal price fixing conspiracy," said Anne K. Bingaman, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division.

The charge was filed in U.S. District Court in Tampa, Florida, where a federal grand jury has been investigating collusive practices by flush door manufacturers.

On June 22, one of the largest residential door manufacturers in the U.S., Premdor Corp., was sentenced to pay $6 million in criminal fines for conspiring to fix the prices of doors.

The continuing investigation is being conducted by the Division's Litigation I Section with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The maximum penalty for a corporation convicted of a violation of the Sherman Act is the greatest of a $10 million fine, twice the gross pecuniary gain the corporation derived from the crime or twice the gross pecuniary loss caused to the victims of the crime.

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