Cargolux execs plead guilty

   Two executives of Luxembourg-based Cargolux Airlines International S.A. have each pleaded guilty and agreed to serve 13 months in prison for participating in a conspiracy to fix cargo rates for international air shipments, the U.S. Justice Department announced on Thursday. 
   Ulrich Ogiermann, the former president and chief executive officer, and current employee of Cargolux; and Robert Van de Weg, the airline’s senior vice president of sales and marketing, pleaded guilty to the charges contained in an indictment filed on Oct. 28, 2010, in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach, Fla.
   In specific, Ogiermann and Van de Weg pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing and coordinating certain surcharges, including security and fuel surcharges, charged to air cargo customers located in the United States and elsewhere. According to the indictment, Ogiermann participated in the conspiracy from at least as early as October 2001 until at least February 2006, while Van de Weg engaged in the activity from at least as early December 2003 until at least February 2006. Under the plea agreements, both executives have also each agreed to pay a $20,000 criminal fine and to cooperate with the department’s ongoing investigation. 
   In addition to Ogiermann and Van de Weg, a total of 22 airlines and 21 executives have been charged in the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into price fixing in the air transportation industry. To date, more than $1.8 billion in criminal fines have been imposed and four executives have been sentenced to serve prison time.