U.S. Attorney Issues Indictments in Ralphs Labor Case

LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Attorney’s Office here issued indictments last week for five current and former Ralphs executives and managers, alleging that they conspired to illegally hire locked-out workers during the Southern California strike of 2003-2004. The indictment alleges that the workers were rehired using false names and Social Security Numbers to avoid detection. The investigation of the hiring of locked-out workers was previously reported. In a prepared statement, Ralphs’ parent company, Cincinnati-based Kroger Co., said, “These indictments do not change the terms of the 2006 settlement agreement between Ralphs and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. That agreement resolved all pending and potential criminal claims against the company related to the 2003-2004 labor dispute.” The five who were indicted, on a total of 23 counts, were Scott Drew, 47, now a Kroger vice president; Patrick McGowan a former Ralphs vice president; Charles Vance, a former Ralphs zone manager; Randall Kruska, a former Ralphs zone manager; and Karen Montoya, a former Ralphs district manager. They face arraignment here next month. Three Ralphs managers were also indicted for allegedly lying to investigators about hiring workers under false identities: Craig Totman, a former Ralphs store director; Kelley Clark, also a former Ralphs store director; and Allen Moorman, a current district manager.

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