
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 7, 1990                   TAG: 9006070185
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: C6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: NORFOLK                                LENGTH: Short

COCA-COLA EXECUTIVE CLEARED IN CONSPIRACY

A former executive of Mid-Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Co. was acquitted of conspiracy Wednesday, a day after the same jury found the company guilty of bribery and conspiracy in a scheme to boost sales to the Navy.

A U.S. District Court jury found the Maryland company guilty on all 11 counts Tuesday after two days of deliberations. Sentencing was set for Aug. 3.

The jury found James J. Valerio, the former comptroller of Mid-Atlantic's Tidewater division, innocent of a single count of conspiracy.

According to the three weeks of testimony, the company used thousands of cases of discounted or free soft drinks to buy the favor of John R. Sabatino, a civilian employee of the Navy Resale and Service Support Office. In exchange, Sabatino helped Mid-Atlantic land multimillion-dollar Navy soft-drink contracts beginning in 1984.

Sabatino's department was responsible for soft-drink purchases for U.S. Navy bases, including those in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. - Associated Press

by CNB