FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AT
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7, 1995                            (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

       JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FILES FIRST CHARGES IN NATIONWIDE
  INVESTIGATION INTO COLLUSIVE PRACTICES IN THE CARPET INDUSTRY


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A nationwide investigation into alleged
price fixing in the $9 billion a year carpet industry has led to
criminal charges being filed against a Georgia carpet company and
its chief executive--the first charges to come out of the
investigation being conducted by the Justice Department's
Antitrust Division.
     Sunrise Carpet Industries Inc. of Chatsworth, Georgia, and
its Chief Executive Officer and Board Chairman, Johnny A. West,
were charged in U.S. District Court in Atlanta with conspiring
with others to fix, raise, and maintain prices of carpet sold
throughout the United States.  
     Gary R. Spratling, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the
Antitrust Division, said the conspiracy took place from October
1992 until June 1993, in violation of the Sherman Act.
     "Those who conspire to drive up the price of products can
expect to face criminal charges," said Spratling.  "The
investigation, which is being conducted by the Division's Atlanta
Field Office, will continue," he said.
     Sunrise produces popular low-priced carpet used in
residential and commercial buildings.  It is made of twenty-ounce
level-loop polypropylene.
     Spratling said the charges arose in connection with a grand
jury investigation in Atlanta into collusive practices by carpet
products manufacturers.  
     The maximum penalty for a corporation convicted under the
Sherman Act after November 16, 1990, 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.  
     The maximum penalty for an individual convicted under the
Sherman Act after November 16, 1990, is a period of incarceration
of three years and the greatest of a $350,000 fine, twice the
gross pecuniary gain the individual derived from the crime, or
twice the gross pecuniary loss caused to the victims of the
crime.
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