Whitacre Is Guilty Of Stealing From Adm

The former Archer Daniels Midland Co. executive who secretly recorded conversations that snared the company in a global price-fixing case pleaded guilty Friday to swindling ADM out of $9 million.

Mark E. Whitacre pleaded to 37 counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy, money laundering, interstate transportation of stolen property and filing a false income tax return.

Sentencing was set for Jan. 13. Prosecutors said they wanted Whitacre, former head of the giant agribusiness company’s BioProducts Division, to serve at least 6-1/2 years in prison - a small fraction of the maximum sentence.