WASHINGTON, D.C.-- A federal grand jury in Baltimore today indicted the President and Chief Executive Officer of Wilsonart International Inc., a Texas company, for making false declarations before a grand jury investigating the possibility of price fixing in the high pressure laminate industry, the Department of Justice announced.

The indictment, filed today in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, charges William Reeb with four counts of perjury before a federal grand jury on November 17, 1999. According to the charges, Reeb knowingly provided false testimony about whether he participated in discussions with competitors to fix prices and limit competition for Wilsonarts high pressure laminate customers.

The company, headquartered in Temple, Texas, is the largest manufacturer of high pressure laminate in the United States. High pressure laminate is a decorative surfacing product, commonly used on kitchen and bath countertops and other work surfaces.

"To preserve the integrity of the grand jury process, persons testifying before grand juries must be absolutely truthful and candid," said Joel I. Klein, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department's Antitrust Division. "Persons found to have lied to a grand jury investigating an antitrust matter will be prosecuted."

The ongoing investigation into collusion among high pressure laminate manufacturers is being conducted by the Antitrust Division's Litigation I Section and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Annapolis, Maryland Field Office.

The maximum penalty for an individual convicted of perjury is five years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.