A Supervalu-owned grocery chain and two of its former executives have been accused in a criminal proceeding of bribing a prominent state senator, who himself was indicted for accepting $245,000 in bribes.
William J. White, former president of Shoppers Food & Pharmacy, and R. Kevin Small, the chain's former real estate vice president, bribed Ulysses Currie between 2002 to 2008, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.
A separate bill of criminal information was filed against Shoppers Food, which has agreed to enter a deferred prosecution agreement and pay a $2.5 million fine.
White told executives at Eden Prairie-based Supervalu Inc. that Shoppers Food had hired Currie as a consultant for community relations, public affairs and minority recruitment and outreach efforts. But Currie was actually being paid to repeatedly use his official position in ways to benefit Shoppers Food, White and Small, according to the complaint.
Shoppers Food & Pharmacy, a supermarket chain in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., areas, agreed to pay a $2.5 million penalty to end the case against the company.
"We chose to resolve this case so we could put this matter behind us and focus on our current business initiatives," Supervalu said in a statement Monday. "We promptly ended the relationship with the senator after these actions were revealed, and we have cooperated fully with the government's investigation."
Currie's office declined to comment. White and Small, who face charges along with Currie, couldn't be reached for comment.
The investigation became public in May 2008 after FBI agents raided Currie's home and searched Shoppers' corporate headquarters in Maryland.
