Chrysler plant raid leads to charges for 29

FENTON, Mo., April 25 (Reuter) A police raid at Chrysler Corp.'s twin
assembly plants here resulted in drug, gambling and theft charges against 29
people, including 26 Chrysler employees, police and the company said Friday.

The raid at Chrysler's minivan and pickup truck plants was the culminiation
of an 18month surveillance operation into gambling and drugrelated
activities within the plant, St. Louis County Police Officer Rick Eckhard
said.

The operation was nearly identical to a May 1995 raid at Chrysler's Sterling
Heights, Mich., car plant that resulted in the arrests of 19 workers on drug
charges.

In both investigations, undercover officers posed as assembly line workers to
gather evidence of the illegal activities.

``Employees within the Chrysler plant who witnessed these activities
contacted their management and that's when we got involved,'' Eckhard said of
the Fenton investigation.

The most serious charges Thursday night include possession and delivery of
marijuana, LSD, amphetamines and cocaine. Arrest warrants were issued for 22
people, while seven were due to receive misdemeanor summonses from the city
of Fenton.

Chrysler spokesman Dan Mooore said 22 of the 26 employees involved have been
fired for ``conduct not in accordance with Chrysler's ethics and policies.''
Chrysler is reviewing the status of the four other employees.

Police entered the plants and sealed exits Thursday evening and arrested
about 16 people during the minivan plant's second shift. The rest were
arrested at other locations, in part because Chrysler's other Fenton plant,
which builds Dodge Ram pickup trucks, was idle due to an engine plant strike
in Detroit.

Chrysler's officials quickly moved to say that such drug activity is not
widespread among its work force, and added the company will act swiftly to
eradicate it.

``We do not believe the behaviours of the people arrested today are
indicative of our work force here in St. Louis, nor do we believe it is fair
to allow a small number of individuals to tarnish our collective
reputation,'' said Dennis Pawley, Chrysler's executive vice president for
manufacturing.