Minn.-based packaged ice company agrees to pay $9M for allegedly conspiring with competitor

Minn. ice company to pay $9M in antitrust case

MINNEAPOLIS — A packaged ice company has agreed to pay a $9 million criminal fine for allegedly conspiring with a competitor to divide up the ice market in the Detroit area and southeastern Michigan.

The Justice Department says St. Paul, Minn.-based Arctic Glacier International Inc. is the second company to plead guilty to criminal charges stemming from an ongoing investigation into the packaged ice industry.

The Justice Department also announced Tuesday that three of Arctic Glacier’s former executives also reached plea deals.

Arctic Glacier International’s parent company, Winnipeg, Canada-based Arctic Glacier Income Fund, said it didn’t know the practices were taking place when it acquired companies operating in southeastern Michigan and Detroit in 2005.