FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AT
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1996                        (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888



          SAN DIEGO FOOD BROKERAGE COMPANY INDICTED FOR
           MAKING FALSE STATEMENT TO GOVERNMENT AGENCY


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A San Diego federal grand jury today
indicted a San Diego food brokerage company for making a false
statement to the Defense Department's Defense Commissary Agency
about its contacts with competitors in connection with bidding on
military commissary purchase agreements.

     Service Deli Inc. was charged in a one-count indictment
filed in U.S. District Court in San Diego with submitting a false
statement to the Defense Commissary Agency on July 26, 1993.
     Service Deli operates dozens of bakeries, delis and pizza
operations in American military commissaries, primarily in the
western United States.

     In its response to bid protests filed by other companie
with the Defense Commissary Agency contesting the 1993 award of
certain blanket purchase agreements to Service Deli and others,
Service Deli, through one of its employees, sent a letter to the
agency denying that Service Deli and a competitor had discussed
prices to be submitted on the protested purchase agreements.  In
fact, Service Deli and the competitor, through it
representatives, had discussed bid prices on the protested
contracts, the indictment charged.

     The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the
Antitrust Division's San Francisco Field Office and the Naval
Criminal Investigative Service.

     The maximum penalty for a corporation convicted of making
false statements is a fine of $500,000.
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96-469