February 12, 2003

PRESS RELEASE

CO-OWNERS OF CANTON SCRAP METAL COMPANY PLEAD GUILTY
TO FILING FALSE TAX RETURNS

Boston, MA... Two officers of a Canton, Massachusetts scrap metal company pleaded guilty today in federal court to subscribing to false income tax returns.

United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan and Joseph A. Galasso, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, announced that RICHARD E. KRADIN, age 47, of Canton, Massachusetts, and ROBERT D. KRADIN, age 38, of Mansfield, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Rya W. Zobel to a criminal Information charging them with subscribing to false individual and corporate U.S. income tax returns for the years 1996 to 1999.

At today's plea hearing, the prosecutor told the Court that had the case proceeded to trial, the government's evidence would have proven that RICHARD and ROBERT KRADIN are brothers and are each 50% percent owners of Kradin Metal Co., Inc. located in Canton, Massachusetts, which engages in the business of buying and selling scrap metal. During the years 1996 to 1998, Kradin Metal sold substantial quantities of scrap metal to a Chelsea, Massachusetts scrap metal firm which paid for the scrap metal by means of checks made payable to fictitious payees. The KRADIN brothers cashed the checks and then used the proceeds for their own personal purposes rather than depositing the funds into the accounts of Kradin Metal. The KRADIN brothers did not report the income on their personal income tax returns for the same time period.

Judge Zobel scheduled sentencing for April 24, 2003. Each of the defendants faces a maximum sentence of 3 years in prison, to be followed by 1 year of supervised release, and a $100,000 fine.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter A. Mullin in Sullivan's Economic Crimes Unit.

Press Contact: Samantha Martin, (617) 748-3139