Former Texaco Executive Denounces 'PC' Prosecution

AP 03-JUL-97

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) A retired Texaco treasurer who allegedly tried to destroy documents in a racial bias case against the company said Thursday that charges against him are driven by "a skewed sense of political correctness." "What are we doing here?" lawyer Jonathan Rosner asked reporters after his client, Robert Ulrich, pleaded innocent to federal charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

He's accused of agreeing in 1994 to hide and destroy documents sought by plaintiffs in the discrimination case against Texaco. On secretly recorded tapes of a meeting at Texaco, Ulrich allegedly says, "We're going to purge the (expletive) out of these books."

But his lawyer said Ulrich is being prosecuted only because the widely publicized original transcript of the tapes purported that he had uttered a racial epithet. A Texaco investigation concluded from enhanced tapes that no such word was said.

"The prosecution, founded on a skewed sense of political correctness, is an effort to impose on a visible scapegoat the responsibility for the shortcomings of others," Ulrich said.

The obstruction of justice count is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, the conspiracy count by five years.

The civil discrimination case that predated the federal charges brought a record $176 million settlement. More than 1,300 black salaried employees are getting awards averaging more than $63,000.