On April 4, 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust
Division successfully extradited Romano Pisciotti from Germany to
make an initial appearance on antitrust-related charges in a
federal district court in Miami, Florida. Pisciotti, an Italian
national and former executive with Parker ITR S.r.l., allegedly
conspired to suppress and eliminate competition by engaging in
bid-rigging, price-fixing and allocating market shares for the
sales of marine hose in the United States and in other
countries.
The Antitrust Division's indictment alleges that while
working for Parker, a marine hose manufacturer, Pisciotti collected
and divulged to a co-conspirator/coordinator information from
customers in the United States and elsewhere about upcoming marine
hose jobs. That coordinator allegedly was paid by conspiring marine
hose manufacturers, and served as a clearinghouse for bidding
information that was shared among the conspirators. Pisciotti
allegedly joined and
