Exec gets 4 years

A former Sea Star Line executive has been sentenced to four years in prison in the first case to wrap up in the antitrust probe of US-flag liner operators.

Peter Baci's prison term is the longest ever imposed in a US antitrust case. He also was ordered to pay a $20,000 criminal fine.

"Significant jail time will be a consequence of harming consumers and competition," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Scott Hammond, who heads the Department of Justice antitrust division.

A spokesman for Jacksonville-based Sea Star Line was not immediately available for comment.

Baci is one of five executives who pleaded guilty in a Jacksonville, Florida, criminal court as federal investigators probe alleged anti-competitive practices in domestic container shipping to Puerto Rico.

Three former Horizon Lines employees – R Kevin Gill, Gregory Glova, and Gabriel Serra – are awaiting sentencing for antitrust charges. Sea Star Lines' Alexander Chisholm has pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and is also awaiting sentencing.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation also has subpoenaed records from Crowley Maritime and Matson Navigation in a probe that has spread to other domestic trade lanes.

According to the Justice Department, between May 2002 and April 2008, Baci was involved in a conspiracy to "suppress and eliminate competition" in the between Puerto Rico and the mainland United States.

Allegations include bid rigging, allocation of customers, and fixing rates, surcharges and other fees.

The sentencing comes nearly five years after the US Congress raised the maximum prison time for antitrust violations. Baci's jail term is the first of more than three years in a case only involving antitrust charges.

Led by Bob Magee, Sea Star Line operates three vessels on the Puerto Rico lane.

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