http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16597839/
Coke trade secrets trial set to begin
Was accused secretary a schemer? Or a dupe? Jury will decide
The Associated Press
Updated: 2:41 p.m. ET Jan 15, 2007
ATLANTA - Prosecutors say a former Coca-Cola secretary took
confidential documents from the beverage giant and samples of
products that hadn't been launched with the aim of selling them to
rival Pepsi. Her lawyer says she was duped by two ex-cons and didn't
commit a crime.
A jury will be asked to determine who is telling the truth. The
process of selecting that jury starts Tuesday in Joya Williams' trial.
Williams, who was fired as an administrative assistant to The
Coca-Cola Co.'s global brand director after the alleged scheme came
to light last summer, faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of
conspiracy.
Williams, Edmund Duhaney and Ibrahim Dimson were indicted on the
single federal charge, accused of stealing new product samples and
confidential documents from Atlanta-based Coca-Cola and trying to
sell them to Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo Inc.
The alleged plans were foiled after Pepsi warned Coca-Cola in May and
an undercover FBI investigation was launched.
Dimson and Duhaney have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
Duhaney is expected to testify against Williams, though it is unclear
if Dimson will.
The two men served prison terms at the same time at a federal
penitentiary in Montgomery, Ala. Duhaney served nearly 5 years of a
7-year sentence on a cocaine charge before being released in 2005;
Dimson served less than 1 year of a 2-year sentence on a bank fraud
charge before his release in 2004.
Williams' lawyer, Janice Singer, said she plans to make the two men's
credibility a key issue in her client's defense. Williams does not
have a criminal record, another attorney who previously represented
her has said.
Was client manipulated?
"The case is about two felons who manipulated and used my client
without her knowledge," Singer said. "She did not take any documents
she believed to be trade secrets to share with these people or to
harm Coke and benefit Pepsi, nor did she intentionally knowingly give
them any documents."
Singer said that Williams was allowed to take home documents from her
job. She suggested that Dimson and Duhaney stole the materials from her.
"We're not denying that she possessed them, but we are denying that
she conspired with the other defendants to do anything nefarious or
wrong," Singer said.
However, prosecutors say they have a strong case. That includes video
surveillance showing Williams at her desk at Coke headquarters going
through multiple files looking for documents and stuffing them into
bags, according to court records. She also was observed holding a
liquid container with a white label, which resembled the description
of a new product sample, before placing it into her personal bag,
prosecutors say.
The prosecution says a box containing two undisclosed product samples
and other confidential company papers were found in Duhaney's home
during a search on July 5, the day all three were arrested.
The myserious 'Project N.......'
Coke has declined to give details about the samples, including which
products they are for. The indictment only refers to a mysterious
"Project N......."
Duhaney's lawyer, Don Samuel, said his client played a small role in
the scheme. "He pleaded guilty to being a member of a conspiracy so
you can assume he will testify consistent to that plea," Samuel said.
The episode prompted Coke to re-evaluate its safeguards for
protecting trade secrets, and other corporations have asked whether
they should do the same. The products allegedly stolen weren't locked
up in a bank vault like the recipe for Coca-Cola's flagship soda brand.
Coke's general counsel sent a memo to employees afterward urging them
to come forward if they see someone doing something inappropriate.
A Coca-Cola spokeswoman, Crystal Walker, declined to comment on the trial.
Seeking secrecy
Prosecutors are seeking some secrecy during the trial. They want to
bar jurors from disclosing to others confidential materials they are
presented, seal any exhibits containing trade secrets that are
entered into evidence, and limit defense lawyer Singer's ability to
introduce confidential information into evidence. Rulings by U.S.
District Judge J. Owen Forrester were pending. Singer has said
granting the requests would violate her client's right to a public trial.
On Tuesday, potential jurors will be given a jury questionnaire. The
panel will be chosen Wednesday, and opening statements could begin
that afternoon or Thursday, Singer said. The trial, including jury
selection, is expected to last up to two weeks.
The questionnaire gauges whether potential jurors own Coca-Cola
stock, work for the company or have already made up their mind about
the facts of the case based on pretrial publicity, Singer said.
"We're not striking people based on whether they drink Coke," Singer
said with a laugh. "If that was the case, I'd also have to recuse myself."
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