LOS ANGELES : 2 Plead Not Guilty in Case of Fake Designer Imports

Two Southern California men Monday pleaded not guilty to charges that they conspired to bribe a U.S. Customs official and illegally imported $6 million in counterfeit designer goods. They were ordered to stand trial in December.

In a 42-count indictment, Charles Lee of Cerritos and Richard W. Regan of Eagle Rock were charged with running one of the largest counterfeit operations ever uncovered by federal authorities. According to Assistant U.S. Atty. Stephen A. Mansfield, the two men imported fake Gucci, Georgio Armani, Louis Vuitton and Chanel handbags, luggage, clothes, watches and jewelry. The counterfeit products were allegedly made in Korea and shipped by airplane to the United States.

Lee is also charged with paying a U.S. Customs inspector $85,000 in bribes from August, 1991, to April, 1992. The inspector was secretly cooperating with investigators, and wore a tape recorder to record his conversations with the two suspects, Mansfield said.

If convicted, Lee faces a maximum sentence of 410 years in prison and $10.5 million in fines, while Regan could be imprisoned for five years and fined $250,000. Both men are scheduled to go to trial Dec. 22.