FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AT
TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 1996                             (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

  SOUTH DAKOTA DAIRY AGREES TO PLEAD GUILTY AND PAY A $250,000
  FINE FOR ITS PARTICIPATION IN A MILK PRICE FIXING CONSPIRACY


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A Rapid City, South Dakota dairy company
agreed to plead guilty and pay a $250,000 criminal fine today for
participating in a milk price fixing conspiracy involving
publicly bid contracts in South Dakota, said the Department of
Justice.
     The Department of Justice's Antitrust Division filed a one-
count felony case in U.S. District Court in Sioux Falls, South
Dakota, against Gillette Dairy of the Black Hills Inc. charging
that the company and others conspired to fix prices, rig bids,
and allocate customers with respect to publicly bid contracts for
the sale of dairy products in South Dakota.  The conspiracy began
as early as 1987 and continued until at least 1991.
     To date, 67 corporations and 59 individuals have been
convicted and a total of approximately $68 million in fines and
damages have been imposed in cases involving the supply of dairy
products to public school districts and other customers.  Twenty-
nine individuals have been sentenced to serve an average of 
approximately seven months imprisonment.  
     Anne K. Bingaman, Assistant Attorney General in charge of
the Antitrust Division, said the charges arose in connection with
an investigation in Minnesota and surrounding states into
collusive practices by dairy products suppliers.  
     The continuing investigation is being conducted by the
Antitrust Division's Chicago Field Office, the U.S. Attorney for
the District of South Dakota, the U.S. Attorney for the District
of Minnesota, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  State
authorities are also providing assistance to the investigation.
     The victims of the conspiracy charged today have the right
to seek civil treble damages.  The victims of these types of
conspiracies nationwide have recovered more than $100 million in
civil damages.    
     The maximum penalty for a corporation convicted under the
Sherman Act for a violation occurring after November 16, 1990, is
a fine not to exceed the greatest of $10 million, twice the
pecuniary gain the corporation derived from the crime, or twice
the pecuniary loss caused to the victims of the crime.
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