EL PASO BUSINESSMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO ROLE IN CONSPIRACY TO RIG BIDS AND ALLOCATE CUSTOMERS FOR THE DOOR AND HARDWARE CONTRACTS

On October 28, 2008, Humberto “Beto” Lopez, vice president of El Paso Steel Doors and Frames Inc., pled guilty to conspiring to rig bids and allocate customers for certain contracts for sales of doors and other hardware for various construction projects in the El Paso area. Mr. Lopez has also agreed to cooperate in the ongoing investigation.
Mr. Lopez along with Lindsey B. Holt, president of Architectural Products Co. Inc. were indicted in September 2008 for their role in this conspiracy. The conspiracy began in the early 1990s and continued until May 2006. Ms. Holt, Mr. Lopez, and their co-conspirators allegedly agreed not to compete on bids and decided on which companies would win contracts. They allocated different customers to designated companies and agreed not to compete for business of customers allocated to another company.

Andre Barlow
(202) 589-1834
abarlow@dbmlawgroup.com