FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Todd Hallidy
Phone: (302) 577-8314
Date: December 17, 2001
 

TOYS FROM A.G.'S SETTLEMENT HEADING TO NEEDY CHILDREN
 

(Wilmington) - Attorney General M. Jane Brady today announced that 1,762 new toys have been delivered to Delaware for needy children this holiday season as a result of an anti-trust settlement against toy manufacturers and distributors. The toys are being distributed through the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys for Tots program. The retail value of the merchandise is approximately $26,000.00.

This is the third and final year of holiday toy disbursements from the settlement. Attorney General Brady joined in national multi-state settlements with Hasbro, Inc. in December, 1998 and with Toys R Us, Mattel Inc., and the Little Tykes Co., in May, 1999. The companies were accused of price-fixing by conspiring to limit the volume of toys sold to warehouse club retailers, thus controlling the supply of toys to their own advantage. Under the settlement, the state also received a cash payment of $34,970.00, which was distributed to agencies in Delaware that promote learning opportunities for young people or enhance their reading skills.

Attorney General Brady personally inspected some of the toys today at the U.S. Marine Corps Training Center on Kirkwood Highway in Wilmington. Brady said, "It is especially gratifying that those consumers who were hurt the most in this case, children, are benefitting from the settlement in a very tangible way. Children who may have been deprived in the past because their parents couldn't pay artificially high toy prices can now have a happier holiday."

The Attorney General also thanked those connected to the Marines and the "Toys for Tots" program, including Marine Sergeants Jim Ayres, Erik Gruner, Steven Hernandez, Harry Temple of the Marine Corps League and others. New Castle County Police recruits have also been assisting this year's campaign.

A.G. Brady's endorsement of 'Toys for Tots" is also reflected annually during the holiday party for Department of Justice employees. This year, DOJ employees donated 10 new bicycles and helmets and about 100 other new toys to "Toys for Tots" during the party.

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