Two Former Ralphs Managers Sentenced

ELLIOT ZWIEBACH

LOS ANGELES — Two former zone managers for Kroger-owned Ralphs Grocery Co. were sentenced Monday for telling locked-out employees to use false names and Social Security numbers so they could be rehired during the 134-day labor dispute in Southern California in late 2003 and early 2004.

Both Charles Vance and Randall Kruska were sentenced to two years' probation; Vance was also sentenced to three months of house arrest and Kruska was ordered to pay a $3,000 fine. Both men pleaded guilty to the charges.

A federal jury acquitted three other former Ralphs executives last June of fraud and conspiracy charges, including a regional vice president and two zone managers.

Ralphs also pleaded guilty to similar charges in 2006 and agreed to pay $20 million in fines and $50 million to a fund to reimburse the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and some of its members.

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