Ex-Texaco Exec Pleads Innocent in Bias Case

Former Texaco treasurer Robert Ulrich pleaded innocent in federal court to charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice in a race discrimination case that became a national embarrassment for the company. Ulrich, 63, is accused of agreeing to hide and destroy documents sought by plaintiffs in the case. Ulrich released a statement saying the prosecution was “obviously fueled” by news reports about tape recordings made by another former Texaco executive on which Ulrich allegedly belittles black employees. Ulrich’s lawyer, Jonathan Rosner, said co-defendant Richard Lundwall, who made the tapes and released them, told a lawyer for the plaintiffs that “it wasn’t [Ulrich’s] intention to pull anything out he felt would relate to this case.” Lundwall, who faces the same charges as Ulrich, released the recordings after a company cutback cost him his job. Texaco, which is based in White Plains, N.Y., settled the case for an estimated $176 million.