By Diane Bartz
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The former president of a U.S. joint venture of Nishikawa Rubber Co pleaded guilty on Wednesday to fixing the prices of weather stripping and other auto body sealing products and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The Justice Department said Keiji Kyomoto had been indicted in October 2015 for working with two other people to rig bids for auto body sealing products for cars made in the United States. He also agreed to pay a $20,000 fine.
The department did not identify Kyomoto's former employer but he had previously been working for Nishikawa. The FBI said he was president of an unnamed joint venture that manufactured and sold automotive body sealing parts.
The Justice Department and antitrust enforcers around the world have had a long-running investigation into price-fixing of auto parts. Thirty-eight companies and 58 executives have been charged as part of the investigation.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Bill Trott)