RALPHS DENIES ILLEGAL REHIRING GROCERY CHAIN FACES CHARGES FROM STRIKE.Byline: Cortney Fielding Staff Writer Ralphs Grocery Co. pleaded not guilty Monday to charges it illegally rehired hundreds of locked-out employees during a 139-day grocery strike two years ago. More than 50 charges were leveled against the grocery chain during its arraignment A criminal proceeding at which the defendant is officially called before a court of competent jurisdiction, informed of the offense charged in the complaint, information, indictment, or other charging document, and asked to enter a plea of guilty, not guilty, or as otherwise permitted in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, including counts of identity fraud, money laundering The process of taking the proceeds of criminal activity and making them appear legal. Laundering allows criminals to transform illegally obtained gain into seemingly legitimate funds. and obstruction of justice A criminal offense that involves interference, through words or actions, with the proper operations of a court or officers of the court. The integrity of the judicial system depends on the participants' acting honestly and without fear of reprisals. . Federal prosecutors said the company, which operates more than 300 Ralphs stores across California, knowingly used false names and Social Security numbers to bring striking workers back into its stores, then cashed paychecks for the employees under those invalid names. ``No bank is going to cash a check issued to someone else,'' said Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office. Prosecutors also allege Ralphs hid documents from investigators that implicated im·pli·cate tr.v. im·pli·cat·ed, im·pli·cat·ing, im·pli·cates 1. To involve or connect intimately or incriminatingly: evidence that implicates others in the plot. 2. the company, obstructing a two-year investigation into the claims. If convicted, Ralphs and its parent, Cincinnati-based Kroger Co., could face more than $100 million in fines, plus back pay and other restitution. Kroger acknowledged that some improper hiring took place during the labor turmoil, though it said the practice was limited to a few low-level managers who have since been disciplined. ``We strongly dispute the claim that the behavior of some store managers reflected a corporate plan devised to further the company's position during the prolonged labor prolonged labor Obstetrics Labor of > 24 hrs duration, which may be due to a prolonged latent phase–> 20 hrs in a primigravida or > 14 hrs in a multipara, or due to a 'protraction disorder' in which there is protracted cervical dilatation in the negotiations,'' Paul Heldman, Kroger's senior vice president, said last month in a statement after Ralphs was indicted INDICTED, practice. When a man is accused by a bill of indictment preferred by a grand jury, he is said to be indicted. . But the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles said investigators found evidence that high-level company officials were involved. ``It appears this was much more widespread on a much more organized basis,'' U.S. Attorney Debra Wong Yang Debra W. Yang (楊黃金玉; pinyin: Yáng Huáng Jīnyù) was the United States Attorney for the Central District of California. She was appointed in May 2002 by President George W. said at a news conference. ``There was a tacit acknowledgment this was going on.'' No Ralphs officials have been implicated, but Mrozek said individuals could be charged in the future. Nearly 60,000 supermarket clerks represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union is a labor union representing approximately 1.4 million workers in the United States and Canada in many industries, including agriculture, health care, meatpacking, poultry and food processing, manufacturing, textile and International Union walked off the job or were locked out during the 20-week work stoppage at Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons stores, the result of a contract dispute over wages and health care. The strike, which began in November 2003 and lasted until the parties reached an agreement in February 2004, affected more than 850 supermarkets across the region. A trial date has been set for March 28 in U.S. District Court, Central District of California. Government prosecutors said they expect the trial to last 24 days, during which they will call around 75 witnesses. Cortney Fielding, (818) 713-3699 cortney.fielding(at)dailynews.com |
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