Coke secretary gets eight years

A FORMER Coca-Cola secretary convicted of conspiring to steal trade secrets from the world’s largest beverage maker was sentenced yesterday to eight years in federal prison.

Joya Williams, 42, had faced up to 10 years in prison on the single conspiracy charge in a failed scheme to sell the materials to rival Pepsi for at least $1.5 million. She was convicted on February 2 following a jury trial in US District Court in Atlanta, where The Coca-Cola company is based.

“This is the kind of offence that cannot be tolerated in our society,” US District Judge J Owen Forrester said in imposing sentence.