Former Head of Gillette’s Promotions Business Indicted

The former head of Gillette Co. retail-store promotions department was indicted April 10 on counts of 15 counts of mail and wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

In a statement Friday, U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan announced Gino Deluca was arrested Friday morning. The 46-year-old served from 1996 until he was fired in August as director of Gillette’s permanent-merchandising-systems department, which oversees promotion and display of company products such as razors and Duracell batteries at retail sites.

Gillette brought the matter to the attention of federal law enforcement and cooperated in the investigation, said Mr. Sullivan. According to the indictment, Mr. Deluca allegedly received over the last four years nearly $600,000 in kickbacks from vendors to whom he allegedly steered lucrative Gillette business. The kickbacks ranged from small items such as electronic equipment and vacations, the indictment charges, to big-ticket items like a car, an addition to Mr. Deluca’s home and cash wired to a Swiss bank account.