U.S. Drops Charges Against 5 in Chicken Price-Fixing Case

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. dropped charges against five of the 10 defendants in a price-fixing case that targeted chicken industry workers and executives at companies including Tyson Foods Inc., Pilgrim's Pride Corp. and Perdue Farms LLC. 

The move comes after jurors deadlocked in the case on Tuesday, causing a second mistrial after a different jury failed to reach a verdict in December. Justice Department lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Philip Brimmer to dismiss charges against the five defendants “to streamline the case and conserve the resources of the court, the parties, and the public.” The judge agreed.

The government plans to go forward with a third trial against the remaining five, including former Pilgrim's Pride chief executive officers Jayson Penn and William Lovette. Also to be tried are Roger Austin, a former Pilgrim's vice president; Mikell Fries, president of Claxton Poultry, and Scott Brady, a Claxton vice president.

The failure of two juries to return verdicts on the government's claim of an eight-year conspiracy to fix prices in the massive chicken market is a serious blow to U.S. efforts to police competition in the industry at a time of rising prices. All 10 defendants were charged with conspiring to fix prices and rig bids from 2012 to early 2019. If convicted, the remaining defendants face prison time and fines. 

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.

‘Look Me in the Eye'

After declaring a mistrial in the second case, the judge ordered a top Justice Department lawyer to travel to his Denver courtroom and “look me in the eye” to explain the decision to try the case a third time. 

Read More: Chicken Trial Failures Have Judge Asking Why Do This Over Again

The decision to drop the charges removes from the case Timothy Mulrenin, a Perdue executive who previously worked at Tyson; William Kantola, a Koch Foods Inc. executive; Jimmie Lee Little, a former Pilgrim's sales director; Gary Brian Roberts, a Case Farms employee who had worked at Tyson; and Ric Blake, a former director and manager at George's Inc.

“Had the government adequately investigated this case before bringing charges, it would have recognized that the case should not have been charged in the first place,” Blake's lawyers, Wendy Johnson and Barry Pollack, said in a statement. “We are pleased that the government has finally recognized that Ric Blake did nothing wrong.”

The Justice Department's decision, following the mistrials, “is a vindication for our client,” Mulrenin's lawyer, Elizabeth Prewitt, said in a statement. She called the prosecution “a challenging chapter for our client and his family” and said “we are pleased that the government has decided to finally abandon their case against him.”

Lawyers for the other eight didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment. 

The case is U.S. v. Penn, 20-cr-00152, U.S. District Court, District of Colorado (Denver).

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