Source:   Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal
Contact:    Thu, 8 Jan 1998
Website:  http://www.ohio.com/

CINCINNATI BUSINESSMAN CONVICTED OF DRUG CHARGES IN NEW ZEALAND

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Robert Lindner Jr., head of a three-state chain of
convenience stores, has taken a leave of absence from the company after
being convicted of carrying cocaine and marijuana in New Zealand.

Lindner, 48, president of United Dairy Farmers, pleaded guilty to bringing
the drugs into New Zealand after being arrested Dec. 29 while on vacation.

Lindner was fined $12,500 in New Zealand dollars (about $7,000 in U.S.
currency) on Monday and deported from the South Pacific nation after
admitting that he had a drug problem, the New Zealand Herald reported.

Lindner has taken an indefinite leave of absence from UDF and entered a
drug rehabilitation program, according to a news release issued Wednesday
by his brother, Brad Lindner, executive vice president of UDF.

``We will fully support him and his family during this very difficult
time,'' he said.

Lindner is the oldest son of Robert D. Lindner Sr., one of the three
Lindner brothers who built a business empire from the founding of UDF in
1940. He is the nephew of Carl H. Lindner, chairman of American Financial
Group.

Robert D. Lindner Sr. is owner of United Dairy Farmers Inc.

Lindner was arrested at New Zealand's Auckland International Airport.
Customs personnel using drug-sniffing dogs found 11 grams of cocaine in his
luggage and eight grams of marijuana in his pockets, police said.

Eleven grams of cocaine is a little less than a 1/2-ounce, worth about
$1,000 on the streets in the United States, police said.

In Ohio, possession of that amount of cocaine is a fourth-degree felony,
punishable by six to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Lindner was jailed overnight, released on bond and still was able to spend
time fishing at Huka Lodge before his final court appearance, the Herald
reported.

``He was granted bail, which is a bit unusual,'' said Denise Mackay, an
editor at the Herald.

If Lindner had been a New Zealand citizen, he could have faced a penalty of
at least two years in prison.

High Court Justice Sian Elias fined Lindner after he admitted bringing the
drugs from the United States for his personal use.

Lindner's lawyer, David Jones, said in court that Lindner's drug use was
``related to a number of family and business circumstances,'' the Herald
reported.

Lindner had been vacationing in New Zealand and Australia with his wife and
three children.

United Dairy Farmers operates about 200 stores in Ohio, Kentucky and
Indiana and has 3,000 employees.