Former CEO to plead guilty

Monday, June 16, 2003 | 9:53 a.m.

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Former Rite Aid Chief Executive Martin L. Grass was scheduled to change his plea to guilty in a case accusing him of trying to defraud shareholders, a court official said today.

The change of plea hearing was scheduled for Tuesday in federal court for Grass.

Grass is charged with conspiracy, fraud in the purchase or sale of securities, conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstructing grand jury proceedings, obstructing proceedings of a government agency, witness tampering, 13 counts of lying to the SEC, 10 counts of mail fraud and six counts of wire fraud.

A grand-jury indictment handed down last year against Grass and the other executives alleged that Rite Aid's rise on Wall Street was accomplished by ripping off vendors, concealing hidden interests, lying to the Securities and Exchange Commission and forging documents.

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