Crowley exec acquitted of antitrust charges

A federal jury cleared the executive of charges related to a Puerto Rico price fixing case.    A Crowley shipping executive has been acquitted of charges that he participated in a price-fixing conspiracy in the Puerto Rico trade.
   An article in the Antitrust Alert newsletter of the law firm McDermott, Will & Emery said on May 8 a jury in Puerto Rico acquitted Thomas Farmer, the former vice president of price and yield management for Crowley Liner Services, Inc., of conspiring to suppress and eliminate competition in violation of Sherman Act.
   Farmer had been indicted in March 2013 by the U.S. Department of Justice of conspiring with competing shipping companies, from mid-2005 through April 2008, to fix rates and surcharges for freight transported between the United States and Puerto Rico.
   While the jury acquitted Farmer, six other shipping executives from Sea Star Line and Horizon were found guilty or pleaded guilty to similar charges.