• Ad Age, Friday, July 7, 2006 12:45 PM

In an unusual case of corporate skullduggery and marketing intrigue in the fiercely competitive soft drink industry, three people have been arrested and charged with stealing confidential information about a new product from Coca-Cola Co. and trying to sell the secrets to rival Pepsi-Cola. The plan was thwarted by Pepsi, who reported the attempted sale to Coke--who then called in the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Following a sting operation, the FBI arrested two men and one woman, who was an administrative assistant to a top-level Coke employee. "We commend PepsiCo's good corporate citizenship, the Coca-Cola Co.'s immediate referral to law enforcement and subsequent cooperation, and the FBI's solid investigation in making this case," U.S. Attorney David E. Nahmias said in a statement. For its part, Pepsi took a self-effacing, low-key approach to its good deed. "We just did what any responsible company would do. Competition can be fierce, but it also needs to be fair," said Pepsi spokesman Dave DeCecco. Those charged were Ibrahim Dimson, 30, of New York; Edmund Duhaney, 43, of Decatur, Ga.; and Joya Williams, 41, of Norcross, Ga. Ms. Williams, the executive administrative assistant at Coke, was identified as the source of some of the information, according to the criminal complaint.

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