Last week a grand jury indicted charged Rancho Feeding Corporation co-owner Jesse J. Amaral Jr. and two workers, Felix Sandoval Cabrera and Eugene D. Corda, with 11 felony counts, including distribution of adulterated and misbranded meat, mail fraud and conspiracy. The three are charged for processing animals condemned by FSIS inspectors and processing others that were known to have eye cancer.
The slaughterhouse was at the center of a nine million pound beef recall.
According to the indictment, the three swapped uninspected cows for cattle that had already passed inspection and were awaiting slaughter. They then slaughtered the cancerous cattle and deposited their heads in a gut bin. Cabrera and Corda then allegedly placed the heads from apparently healthy cattle next to the carcasses of the diseased cattle during the inspectors’ lunch breaks. Cabrera and Corda are also carved out “USDA Condemned” stamps from other carcasses.
Amaral told farmers that their cattle had died or been condemned, knowing in fact they had been sold for human consumption. He then billed farmers for handling fees for disposal of the carcasses instead of compensating them for the sale price.
Can you say – “Jail Time?” I think that for each felony count it is three years in jail and a $250,000 fine.