The Philadelphia Field Office (PFO) of the Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, was established in 1948 and until its demise in 2013 was one of the premiere and most innovative criminal prosecution offices in the Antitrust Division. The history of the office in many ways tells the history of the development of criminal antitrust enforcement. I was proud to serve with the men and women of that office who took enforcement of the antitrust laws seriously, and had a heck of a good time doing it. [Read more…]
FCPA and Antitrust Compliance Training: Perfect Together
FCPA and Antitrust Compliance Training: Perfect Together
Antitrust compliance programs are the granddaddy of the compliance world. They burst on to the scene in the early 1960’s after the Philadelphia Field Office of the Antitrust Division broke the Great Electrical Equipment Conspiracy. The conspiracy and investigation were featured on the front pages of Time and Fortune magazines, among other major media outlets. Guilty pleas were netted against corporate giants such as General Electric and Westinghouse and executives in the c-suite even served jail terms. At the same time, a plaintiffs’ lawyer, Harold E. Kohn, was developing the class action antitrust suit and sought millions of dollars in damages. Before long, antitrust compliance programs were rolled out to every major company in America. [Read more…]