American Italian Pasta execs plead guilty to fraud charge

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Two top former executives of American Italian Pasta Co. pleaded guilty Monday to orchestrating a series of accounting schemes aimed at misleading investors and inflating the company's stock price.

Former Chief Executive Officer Timothy S. Webster and former Chief Financial Officer Warren B. Schmidgall both pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The U.S. attorney's office in Kansas City said American Italian Pasta also agreed to pay a $7.5 million fine related to the conduct of its former management.

Webster and Schmidgall face up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines.