Byline: By danny hakim section: Section B; Column 0; Metropolitan Desk; Pg. 1 Length

URL: http://www.nytimes.com
SUBJECT: PENSION & RETIREMENT PLANS (90%); PENSION FUNDS (90%); EMPLOYMENT (90%); SUGAR FARMING (89%); EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP PLANS (89%); PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES (78%); SHAREHOLDERS (78%); SUGAR CANE FARMING (77%); RETIREMENT & RETIREES (72%); FOUNDATIONS (66%); LEGISLATORS (64%); LEGISLATIVE BODIES (63%); LITIGATION (52%); SUITS & CLAIMS (52%)
ORGANIZATION: NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (59%)
GEOGRAPHIC: UNITED STATES (79%)
LOAD-DATE: May 29, 2008
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: PHOTOS: A DIFFERENT CULTURE: In Clewiston, Fla., U.S. Sugar was known as a good citizen. But after Nafta, the company changed as it rushed to lower its costs. (PHOTOGRAPH BY BARBARA P. FERNANDEZ FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES)

YEARS OF WORK: Vic McCorvey, left, when he managed a farm for U.S. Sugar and, above, this month. He was laid off in 2004. Tommy Miller, top, retired after 32 years. (PHOTOGRAPHS BY JAMES PATTERSON FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

BARBARA P. FERNANDEZ FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

VIC MCCORVEY, 2000) (pg.A20) CHART: U.S. Sugar Ownership: Employees own the largest block of U.S. Sugar stock, but the Mott Children's Health Center appears to have the pivotal stake, either voting with the family's interests or the employees. (Source: Foundations' financial reports

court filings)
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

724 of 1231 DOCUMENTS

The New York Times
May 29, 2008 Thursday

Late Edition - Final

INSIDE THE TIMES: May 29, 2008
SECTION: Section A; Column 0; Metropolitan Desk; Pg. 2
LENGTH: 2276 words
INTERNATIONAL

OLMERT AIMS TO STAY IN PLACE

Despite Call for Resignation

More straws landed upon the back of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel as Ehud Barak, the Minister of Defense called for him to step down pending the outcome of his corruption inquest. Mr. Olmert refused, saying that he did not believe that he should step down simply because of an investigation. An official close to him said that Mr. Olmert did not want the political machine to trump the legal one, and believed it would become clear during the inquest that he had done nothing wrong. Page A10

THE GERMAN MILK PARTY?

The Federation of European Dairy Farmers estimates that, on Wednesday alone, 10.6 million gallons of milk were dumped in a boycott by European dairy farmers. Why? While food prices have soared, the price of milk has not, in part because the European Union has raised quotas but not prices. As the price of milk fell, prices of fuel and feed rose. But cows keep producing and will sicken if not milked, so dairy farmers will keep working, and dumping, as long as the boycott lasts. Page A6

THE LAST DAYS OF NEPAL'S MONARCHY

Nepal's 239-year-long monarchy neared its end, as a newly elected assembly told Gyanendra, king of Nepal, to step down from his throne in 15 days. The assembly is led by former Maoist guerrillas who emerged from the jungle after 10 years of war and traded gunplay for politics. They also demanded an end to the monarchy. Winning more than a third of Parliament's 601 seats, they hold a majority position and the party's leader is expected to take over as prime minister. Those suspected of remaining loyal to the monarchy have spoken by detonating small bombs in Katmandu. Page A8

SOUTH AFRICA WEIGHS SHELTER PLAN

Waves of xenophobic violence have been visited against immigrants in South Africa, leading them to flee the impoverished squatter areas they had been living in. Relief organizations have proposed shelters intended as a temporary solution that could house as many as 70,000, but have been delayed pending a government decision. Doubts have been raised about South Africa's ability to run them, and international agencies fear that the camps could become rife with conflicts and sexual violence. Page A12

NATIONAL

A PARTIAL PICTURE

Of Carbon Footprints

A new study by the Brookings Institution rating energy use showed, in general, smaller carbon footprints for the West Coast, with the Honolulu area ranked No. 1 followed by the area including Los Angeles and Orange Counties in California, the Portland-Vancouver area in the Northwest and the New York metropolitan area. At the bottom: a cluster of rust-belt urban areas including Cincinnati; Indianapolis; Lexington, Ky.; and Toledo, Ohio. PAGE A21

A PLAN FOR THE OCEANS

With numerous projects being proposed for the waters off its shores, Massachusetts is now the first state to have a framework for a protection plan for its ocean waters. It sets ground rules for all offshore projects and businesses, including energy ventures and conservation areas that lie within three miles of the coast. PAGE A15

FINDING THE TABLES TURNED

As President Bush's press secretary, Scott McClellan was part of the apparatus used by the White House to take on Mr. Bush's critics. Having departed that job, and with a new book that now casts him as one of those critics, Mr. McClellan is learning that the apparatus still functions without him. PAGE A14

CARE FOR THOSE WHO GIVE CARE

The Army has begun to recognize that the war in Iraq is taking a toll not only on the troops, but also on those who counsel those troops, the chaplains. None have been killed, but some have been wounded, some in ways that cannot be seen. ''I've been really pushed to my limits and beyond,'' one said. ''At times, I've really wondered if I could get through.'' PAGE A19

SECT MOTHERS SPEAK OUT

As the highest court in Texas prepares to rule on whether child welfare authorities had the right to take 468 children from a ranch early last month, the mothers are trying to make their case with the public by speaking out more forcefully about the harm they think the separation has already done to their children. PAGE A14

BUSINESS

WITH FURTHER MERGERS UNLIKELY,

Airlines Face Making Own Cuts

Mergers other than the already-announced deal between Delta and Northwest seem unlikely, so airlines seeking to offset rising fuel prices are likely to cut costs, cut routes and park planes without the camouflage that a merger would have provided. And that means that the grumbling will come through unfiltered. PAGE C1

EXXON CHALLENGE DEFEATED

Exxon Mobil's chairman and chief executive, Rex W. Tillerson, defeated a shareholder effort supported by many members of the Rockefeller family that would have divided the chairman and chief executive positions. The vote was at an annual meeting punctuated by a debate of the company's policy toward renewable energy and global warming and, though nonbinding, would have been a serious rebuke. PAGE C3

NATURAL GAS RISING LIKE GASOLINE

A longstanding assumption of American energy policy -- that natural gas will be plentiful abroad, and therefore readily available for importation, as production falls off in North America -- is being challenged as the supertankers that were supposed to deliver cargoes of gas from Africa and the Middle East to the United States are taking them to places like Spain and Japan instead. PAGE C1

LIFE VALUES IN THE CORPORATE WORLD

Students who join Stewart Friedman's management class at the Wharton business school commit to sharing intimate details with their classmates about their most important relationships. And though that may not sound like the stuff of business school education, Mr. Friedman and others have tapped into a desire by both students and established entrepreneurs for more integration of their careers and personal lives. PAGE C5

Strength in Durable Goods econ C4

NEW YORK REPORT

EXERCISER'S LOUD NOISES

Lead to Assault Trial

Stuart Sugarman adjusted the stationary bicycle for his frame, clicked his specialty cycling shoes into the pedals and, when spinning class started, began the most conspicuous part of his ritual: his loud noises. Christopher Carter, who was two bikes down, took issue with the noises. Now a trial in Manhattan Criminal Court is to determine whether what Mr. Carter did to stop Mr. Sugarman from making those noises qualifies as assault. PAGE A25

DEFENDING A PERK

Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo of New York says giving members of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's board free E-ZPasses to drive across its bridges and tunnels without paying tolls, as well as passes to ride the subways, buses and commuter railroads without paying, violates a state law requiring that members serve without compensation. The authority disagrees, and plans to go to court to fight for the perk. PAGE A24

STYLES

STILL TURNING A PROFIT

In Fashion's Fast Lane

One survey this month found more than half the respondents saying they planned to spend less on apparel; another found almost a third of people reporting ''severe anxiety'' about their personal finances. All of which can be good news, it seems, if you happen to be in the fast-fashion business. ''The least vulnerable brands now are the ones at the lower end of the luxury market and the upper end of the midtier market,'' one analyst said. PAGE E1

YOGA FOR THE MASSES

The explosion in popularity of yoga has been good news for novices looking for classes -- there is seemingly one on every corner, and maybe another upstairs. But for the advanced student looking for something a little -- or a lot -- more challenging, the result is not sogood. In seeking to be accessible to the many, classes become less desirable for the few. PAGE E10

FEEL THE STRETCH, AVOID THE MARK

Various concoctions are marketing as being able to prevent stretch marks resulting from pregnancy. Can they? The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says no. But the American Pregnancy Association suggests that women can reduce the probability of stretch marks (the key word being ''probability''). But be aware that genetics and race play a role in stretch marks, too. skin PAGE E3

NO ORDINARY JOE

This sort of thing used to be reserved for wines, but beers have gotten into the act, along with single malt scotches. And so it follows that coffee tastings -- known to aficionados as cuppings -- now appear, at which the devoted might pay $20 each to taste three coffees, each from a different country. Take along a sophisticated palate if you want to pick up the hints of basil and jasmine. PAGE E6

SPORTS

AT 17, READY TO RUN

Against Sport's Elite

Chanelle Price is a high school senior with some typical items on her to-do list this time of year: finish writing two papers, take two final exams. She also has one most unusual item: run the 800 meters at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore., on June 8. From there, who knows, maybe the Olympics in Beijing. PAGE C12

WHEN IT WENT TO THE WIRE

The occasion of this year's run at horse racing's Triple Crown cannot help calling forth memories of the last one, 30 years ago, when two outstanding horses not only faced off in each of the three races but also finished 1-2 in each of them. ''Seen through the current prism of fragile, transient champions, Affirmed and Alydar seem from another planet, another age, another breed,'' George Vecsey writes in Sports of The Times. PAGE C14

HOME

FINDING AN ALTERNATIVE

To That Chlorine Smell

For those who want -- or have -- a swimming pool, but do not want the smell and possible other side effects of a chlorine sanitation system, other options exist. Pool installers may not tell you about them, and they are not cheap, but for some people they are a must. ''Our target audience is the person who shops at Whole Foods,'' said one installer. PAGE F1

PUTTING DOWN (SHALLOW) ROOTS

Move often enough, Peter Moore says, and ''you realize quickly how you are burdened by your past, and so you become a ruthless editor.'' And Mr. Moore, an architect and developer, and his wife, Kathryn Lynch, a painter, have moved often enough. But they've been in the same place for three years now: the top floor of an 1890s brick warehouse on Washington Street. ''Our semipermanent home,'' he calls it. PAGE F5

Shopping for Newlyweds F4

OBITUARIES

DAVID GAHR, 85

He turned his back on a promising career as a scholar to take pictures and listen to music and as a result landed among the pre-eminent photographers of American folk, blues, jazz and rock musicians of the 1960s and beyond. PAGE C11

SOPHIE B. ALTMAN, 95

In 1961 she started a television quiz show for precocious high school students, later added pep bands and cheerleaders and was as surprised as anybody when the show, ''It's Academic,'' became the world's longest-running quiz show. PAGE C11

ARTS

ABC IN ANCHOR TALKS

With Charles Gibson

ABC passed over Charles Gibson in 2005 as anchor of ''World News,'' but events put him in the job anyway, success followed, and now he is in talks to stay there for the foreseeable future. Does he want to? ''I honestly don't know,'' he says. One person who must be anxiously waiting the outcome is Diane Sawyer, whose future probably is linked to the result. PAGE B1

AN ETHICS DISCLAIMER

The media reporter (and sometimes ethics arbiter) Howard Kurtz invited Kimberly Dozier, the CBS journalist wounded in Iraq, onto his program on CNN on Sunday to talk about her memoir, ''Breathing the Fire.'' After the interview, he revealed that his wife had ''done some promotion work'' for the book. He and his employers see no problem with that. Some media ethicists do. PAGE B3

'LOST' LEADING THE LOST

Even committed viewers of the ABC series ''Lost'' might be forgiven for not being able to follow every twist of its anarchic plot or not being aware of the relevance -- even the existence -- of the many obscure allusions made. And anyone who has looked even briefly at ''Lost'' blogs knows that some people are trying way too hard. Season Four concludes tonight. PAGE B1

Gliding Through Space B5

EDITORIAL

IN DEFENSE OF WORKERS

The Supreme Court upheld the rights of employees who charge age and race discrimination. Perhaps the justices realized that Americans want a court that does not stack the deck for the powerful. Or, they may simply be getting better at respecting precedent. PAGE A26

I KNEW IT ALL ALONG

A new memoir by President Bush's former press secretary, Scott McClellan, could be named: ''I Knew It Was a Terrible Mistake, but I Didn't Mention It Until I Got a Book Contract.'' PAGE A26

NEW JERSEY PRIMARY CHOICES

The Editorial Board endorses Frank Lautenberg for the Democratic Senate primary and former Representative Richard Zimmer for the Republican race. Republicans should pick Leonard Lance for the Seventh Congressional District. PAGE A26

OP-ED

NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Does Islamic terrorism threaten this year's Olympic Games? The Chinese authorities have warned of terror plots emanating from the mostly Muslim region of Xinjiang. On a trip to the ancient Silk Road oasis of Kashgar, signs abound of the authorities' anxiety about stability in China's Muslim west. PAGE A27

GAIL COLLINS

South Dakota, along with Montana, is going to have the Last Primary on Tuesday. When you live in a reliably red state with only three electoral votes and no real fund-raising potential, it takes being overlooked in the presidential races to a whole new level. The people here, like Hillary, can use a good moment. PAGE A27

URL: http://www.nytimes.com
SUBJECT: DAIRY FARMING (90%); AGRICULTURAL PRICES (90%); HEADS OF STATE & GOVERNMENT (90%); FOOD PRICES (90%); RESIGNATIONS (89%); INTERNATIONAL TRADE (79%); POLITICS (78%); LEGISLATIVE BODIES (78%); DEFENSE DEPARTMENTS (78%); INVESTIGATIONS (77%); FARMERS & RANCHERS (76%); IMMIGRATION (74%); PRICE INCREASES (73%); OIL & GAS PRICES (73%); DELAYS & POSTPONEMENTS (72%); DISMISSALS (71%); REBELLIONS & INSURGENCIES (69%); SEX OFFENSES (68%); CITIES (60%); RESEARCH INSTITUTES (60%); RANKINGS (60%); PRIME MINISTERS (89%)
ORGANIZATION: EUROPEAN UNION (56%)
PERSON: EHUD OLMERT (92%); EHUD BARAK (91%)
GEOGRAPHIC: INDIANAPOLIS, IN, USA (79%); HONOLULU, HI, USA (79%); LOS ANGELES, CA, USA (79%); CINCINNATI, OH, USA (70%); PORTLAND, OR, USA (70%); NEW YORK, NY, USA (65%) KENTUCKY, USA (79%); CALIFORNIA, USA (79%); INDIANA, USA (79%); OHIO, USA (79%); HAWAII, USA (79%); MASSACHUSETTS, USA (79%); WEST USA (79%); OREGON, USA (70%); NEW YORK, USA (65%) NEPAL (94%); SOUTH AFRICA (93%); UNITED STATES (79%); EUROPE (79%); GERMANY (79%); EUROPEAN UNION (76%)
LOAD-DATE: May 31, 2008
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: PHOTOS
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

725 of 1231 DOCUMENTS

The New York Times
May 28, 2008 Wednesday

Late Edition - Final

Settlement In Lawsuit Vs. Realtors
BYLINE: By ERIC LICHTBLAU
SECTION: Section C; Column 0; Business/Financial Desk; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 834 words
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
The Justice Department and the National Association of Realtors reached a major antitrust settlement Tuesday that government officials said should spur competition among brokers and ultimately bring down hefty sales commissions.

The deal frees Internet brokers and other real-estate agents offering heavily discounted commissions to operate on a level playing field with traditional brokers by using the multiple listing services that are the lifeblood of the industry, government officials said.

The Justice Department sued the National Association of Realtors in federal court in 2005 on antitrust grounds, charging that its policies were stifling competition and hurting consumers. That case was scheduled to go to trial in Chicago in July.

The settlement ''is a win for consumers, certainly, who will now have the benefit of unrestricted competition,'' Deborah A. Garza, deputy assistant attorney general for antitrust, said in an interview. ''There inevitably will be more efficiency and more competition in the market.''

Real estate agents earned $93 billion in commissions in 2006, with a median commission of about $11,600, Justice Department officials said. Internet brokers, offering pared-down services, provided average rebates of 1 percent on commissions that normally ran 5 or 6 percent, translating into thousands of dollars per sale.

Consumer advocates hailed the settlement as an important and somewhat surprising step by the Bush administration, which has staked out a position on many antitrust issues seen as favorable to business interests.

''I was very pleasantly surprised,'' said Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America, which tracked the case. ''Given the reluctance of anyone in Washington before the Justice Department to improve competition in the real-estate industry, this settlement represents a milestone.''

The National Association of Realtors, with more than 1.2 million members, said that the settlement was ''a win-win'' for both the real estate industry and consumers. It noted that the association admitted no wrongdoing and paid no fines or damages as part of the deal.

Laurie Janik, the association's general counsel, said in a telephone interview that the settlement would have no real impact on home buyers or sellers.

''I don't think they'll see anything different,'' she said. ''This lawsuit never had anything to do with commission rates, or discount brokerages.''

She added that the lawsuit and the settlement arose from misunderstandings about the way the Realtors' association works. ''This was a five-year education of the Department of Justice, unfortunately, and the real estate industry had to pay for that education,'' she said.

Since the 1990s, online real estate brokers have offered a popular and cheaper alternative to the bricks-and-mortar variety. But such brokers, known in the industry as ''virtual office Web sites,'' complain that the industry's practices have denied them the chance to make full use of the multiple listing services to determine what homes are for sale.

The agreement between the Justice Department and the Realtors' association must be approved by a federal judge, probably this summer. As now structured, the deal bans the Realtors' association from treating online brokers as different from traditional brokers or discriminating against them, and it ensures that they will not be excluded from membership in the listing service based on their business model.

In one instance, the Justice Department said an unnamed online broker was forced to shut down its Web site because all the traditional brokers on the local listing service, in response to the national association's policy, had withheld their listings from the online broker.

After the Justice Department sued the Realtors' association in 2005, the group suspended the exclusionary policy. Officials said the settlement would ensure that online brokers are given full access and that its policies are made uniform.

''For us, it's a great result,'' said Pat Lashinsky, chief executive of ZipRealty in Emeryville, Calif., which offers online users rebates of up to 20 percent off standard sales commissions. ''We think it's a great result for consumers.''

Norman Hawker, a business professor at Western Michigan University who organized a symposium on the Justice Department litigation as a senior fellow for the American Antitrust Institute, predicted that the settlement would ultimately mean a drop in sales commissions of 25 percent to 50 percent as a result of increased competition.

''It's pretty clear that there was an enormous amount of discrimination against brokers who were trying to use innovative business models,'' including discounted fees and virtual offices on the Internet, he said. ''There are lots of entrepreneurs who have been looking for a green light in the form of this order to begin offering discounted rates. It has the potential to be a big step forward for consumers.''

URL: http://www.nytimes.com
SUBJECT: JUSTICE DEPARTMENTS (92%); REAL ESTATE AGENTS (91%); ANTITRUST & TRADE LAW (91%); REAL ESTATE (91%); ONLINE TRADING (90%); SALES FORCE (90%); SALES COMPENSATION (90%); LAW ENFORCEMENT (90%); DISCOUNT BROKERS (89%); CONSUMER LAW (89%); INTERVIEWS (88%); ATTORNEYS GENERAL (78%); LAWYERS (78%); REAL ESTATE LISTING SERVICES (73%); LAW COURTS & TRIBUNALS (73%); FINES & PENALTIES (70%)
COMPANY: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SECURITIES DEALERS INC (90%)
ORGANIZATION: US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (94%); NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (91%)
GEOGRAPHIC: UNITED STATES (94%)
LOAD-DATE: May 28, 2008
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

726 of 1231 DOCUMENTS

The New York Times
May 28, 2008 Wednesday

Late Edition - Final

J. R. Simplot, Farmer Who Developed First Frozen French Fries, Dies at 99
BYLINE: By DOUGLAS MARTIN
SECTION: Section B; Column 0; Business/Financial Desk; Pg. 6
LENGTH: 873 words
J. R. Simplot, a billionaire who grew up in a sod-roofed log cabin and dropped out of school at 14, then marshaled luck, spunk and inventiveness to fashion an entrepreneurial career that included developing the first commercial frozen French fry, died on Sunday at his home in Boise, Idaho. He was 99.

The death was announced by Larry Hlobik, president and chief executive of the Simplot Company.

Mr. Simplot became the 89th richest American in Forbes magazine's 2007 list ($3.6 billion) by seizing opportunities, then perceiving how one success could lead logically to the next.

An early profit on some pigs allowed him to become a potato farmer, which led to sorting and then processing potatoes. That led to building the largest potato-dehydrating plant in the world, which enabled him to supply much of the dried potatoes and vegetables consumed by United States troops in World War II.

He began mining phosphate to supply his own fertilizer. He shipped potatoes in boxes made from wood from his own forests. He fed leftover potato scraps to cattle that he kept on his vast ranches and huge feedlots.

There had been earlier efforts to develop an acceptable frozen French fry, but a new market opened up after World War II, when freezer compartments became standard in refrigerators. One of Mr. Simplot's researchers, Ray Dunlap, urged Mr. Simplot to give him a freeze box so he could practice freezing vegetables.

''Hell,'' Mr. Simplot answered, according to an article in Range magazine in 1998, ''you freeze spuds and they will go to mush.''

But Mr. Simplot bought Mr. Dunlap a large freezer anyway, and a few months later, Mr. Simplot tasted hot French fries that had been frozen. ''My God, good product,'' he said.

In the mid-1960s, Mr. Simplot signed a contract with Ray Kroc, who built McDonald's into an empire, to supply fries to Mr. Kroc's chain. Mr. Simplot promised to build an entire factory just for McDonald's. The deal was sealed with a handshake.

Late in life, Mr. Simplot still regularly drove his Lincoln Town Car (he owned a dealership) to a McDonald's outlet for an Egg McMuffin and hash browns or fries. The license plate on his car read Mr. Spud.

John Richard Simplot, usually called Jack, was born on Jan. 4, 1909, in Dubuque, Iowa. After loading his pigs, chickens and horses in two boxcars, his father moved the family to Idaho to homestead when Jack was a year old.

At 14, Jack, by his own account, left home after his father refused to let him attend a basketball game. His mother gave him $20 in gold coins, and he moved into a $1-a-night hotel in a nearby town. There were teachers living in the hotel who were being paid in interest-bearing scrip. Jack bought them at 50 cents on the dollar and sold them to a bank for 90 cents on the dollar.

He used this profit to buy a rifle, an old truck and either 600 or 700 hogs (accounts vary) at $1 a head. He used the rifle to shoot wild horses, which -- after stripping the hides for future sale at $2 each -- he mixed with potatoes and cooked on sagebrush-fueled flames. The hogs ate the result. When he sold the fattened pigs, Mr. Simplot made more than $7,000.

That gave him capital to buy farm machinery and six horses and become a potato farmer. Next, he acquired half of an electric potato sorter with a partner. After they argued, they flipped a coin for full ownership. Mr. Simplot won, and expanded to all phases of the potato industry.

Within a decade, Mr. Simplot was the largest shipper of potatoes in the West, with 33 warehouses in Oregon and Idaho.

Ultimately, his businesses included fertilizer, oil, animal feed, seed, beef cattle and ski resorts from Chile to China. The Idaho Statesman newspaper said that he owned the nation's largest cattle ranch, in Oregon.

A $1 million investment in two engineers working in the basement of a dentist's office in Boise made Mr. Simplot the largest shareholder in Micron Technology Inc., a major manufacturer of computer memory chips. The first board meetings were held in a pancake house in Boise.

In the mid-1970s, Mr. Simplot was charged with trying to manipulate Maine potato futures. He was barred from commodities trading for six years and paid $50,000 in fines and an undisclosed amount to settle a lawsuit.

In 1977, he and his company each paid $40,000 in penalties for failing to report income to the Internal Revenue Service, and for claiming false deductions.

Mr. Simplot's first marriage to Ruby Rosevear ended in divorce. His son, Richard, died in 1993. He is survived by his wife, the former Esther Becker; two other sons, Don and Scott; his daughter, Gay; and several grandchildren.

The Statesman, in its obituary, detailed Mr. Simplot's almost ostentatiously modest style: he wore the same pair of glasses for 30 years and did not fix his car's brakes because he did not want to spend the money.

But he liked to hobnob with celebrities and statesmen, including Ernest Hemingway and W. Averell Harriman, at the Sun Valley ski resort. He skied until he was 89, and did it with a style that Lowell Thomas, the writer and adventurer, once described thusly:

''As he goes banging down the Sawtooth Mountains on skis, you hear him singing and laughing a half-mile away.''