TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - A Bridgestone Corp. executive and two former company executives have been indicted in an alleged price-fixing conspiracy.
The indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Toledo charges the three with taking part in a conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition in the auto parts industry.
The Justice Department is conducting a wide-ranging investigation into price-fixing and bid-rigging in the parts industry.
Twenty-six companies, including Tokyo-based Bridgestone, have pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty.
Court documents say Bridgestone participated in allocating sales, rigging bids and raising prices of automotive anti-vibration rubber parts sold to car manufacturers in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Bridgestone has said some employees violated U.S. antitrust laws from 2001 to 2008 and it is confident those activities are no longer in place.