LANNY KIM SKALSKY PLEADS GUILTY IN U.S. FEDERAL COURT

Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Billings on October 24, 2006, before U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, LANNY KIM SKALSKY, a 54-year-old resident of Powell, Wyoming, pled guilty to mail fraud and money laundering. Sentencing is set for January 17, 2007. He is currently released on special conditions.

In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

SKALSKY was an agricultural chemical salesman for Helena Chemical Corporation (HCC) in Laurel.

Between April 2004 and December 2005, SKALSKY accepted orders for

HCC chemicals from several weed and pest districts and several farmers in Wyoming. The customers paid SKALSKY for the chemicals and he kept some or all of the money.

SKALSKY had HCC provide most of the chemicals. SKALSKY did not have chemicals delivered to two customers, causing the loss of $16,918 to one, and $1,867.50 to the other.

SKALSKY had HCC send the bills for the chemicals by mail to Joliet

Flying Services. SKALSKY told the owner of Joliet Flying Services that the accounts would not be paying SKALSKY until December of each year. The owner agreed to this billing arrangement because of the program benefits/rebates that were provided to volume buyers.

In 2004, SKALSKY got behind on his payments to the owner of Joliet Flying Services. On December 22, 2004, SKALSKY made a $95,000 payment of funds from the mail fraud scheme to the owner. The owner deposited the funds in an account at First Citizens Bank in Billings.

On March 23, 2005, SKALSKY also made a $3,500 payment to the owner. The owner paid those amounts to HCC. Notwithstanding those payments, HCC suffered a loss of at least $178,652.17.

When questioned by an investigator from HCC, SKALSKY admitted that he had intended to defraud the victims and confessed to the crime.

On September 25, 2005, SKALSKY had HCC send an envelope by mail to Joliet Flying Services which contained an invoice for $16,627.60 for chemicals related to the scheme.

SKALSKY faces possible penalties of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt G. Alme prosecuted the case for the United States.

The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service.