Three plead guilty to defrauding pharmaceutical company

AUGUSTA - Two men have pleaded guilty to defrauding the maker of the arthritis drug Celebrex out of millions of dollars by inflating construction costs. <br> <br> Two State Construction Co. president Clifford C. Poston, 48, of Thomson admitted Thursday in U.S. District Court that he took part in a conspiracy and committed mail fraud and tax evasion. <br> <br> Poston agreed to repay Monsanto/Searle Corp. $1,558,387, and prosecutors agreed to drop efforts to seize his construction company and personal property. <br> <br> Poston also agreed to pay $1 million in back taxes and interests, and to forfeit the Evans Diner, valued at $1 million. <br> <br> The government said the conspiracy involved inflating construction costs when Two State was retrofitting plants in Augusta and Puerto Rico to manufacture Celebrex. <br> <br> Monsanto/Seare&#39;s former chief engineer, Darwin A. Schneider, 44, of Harbor Beach, Mich., pleaded guilty to conspiracy, mail fraud, filing false tax returns and failing to file a tax return for 1999 when his illegal acts boosted his salary to $927,970. <br> <br> Schneider agreed to pay $2 million in back taxes, repay Monsanto/Searle $1,558,387 and forfeit personal property including boats and a 35-foot recreational vehicle. <br> <br> A third man, Joseph J. Ribordy, 58, of Lake Zurich, Ill., pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud. As part of the plea agreement, the government conceded Ribordy&#39;s illegal act netted him less than $10,000. Mr. Ribordy was the Puerto Rico project&#39;s accountant. <br> <br> The three men remain free on bond pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.