The defendants in the criminal case involving Quality Egg LLC, including Austin (Jack) DoCoster and his son Peter, are objecting to the pre-sentence investigation reports that have been filed under seal with the court. Both the Aug. 14 reports and the Aug. 28 objections filed against them by the defendants are sealed, making it impossible for the public to know the substance of the dispute between the DeCosters and the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services. That arm of the federal courts conducts a pre-sentence investigation after a person enters a guilty plea or receives a guilty verdict following a trial. The confidential report is based on interviews with the defendants, family members, employers and law enforcement officials to gather and/or verify background information. Probation officers also review court, school, military, financial and employment records. While both of the DeCosters and Quality Egg LLC have filed objections to their pre-sentence investigation reports, it’s possible those will undergo revisions and amendments this week. Federal Judge Mark W. Bennett extended the deadline for filing objections to Sept. 4. Defense attorney Frank R. Volpe, representing Jack DeCoster, has told the court that he plans to submit a declaration of Dr. Charles L. Hofacre from the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia. Hofacre’s declaration will address the pre-sentence investigation report’s “findings and conclusions relating to the potential cases of the Salmonella outbreak at Quality Egg,” according to Volpe, who practices at Sidley Austin LLP in Washington, D.C. Volpe said Hofacre needed the extra time because he had recently been without reliable Internet service. The DeCosters pleaded guilty on June 3 to one federal misdemeanor count each under a plea agreement reached last April with the government. The agreement specifies that they will pay personal fines of $100,000 each. The guilty pleas are for introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce, which also opens both of them up to possible one-year jail terms. Separately, Quality Egg LLC, owned by a family trust, also pleaded guilty to two federal felonies and the same federal misdemeanor to which the DeCosters pleaded guilty. The company also agreed to pay fines totaling $6.8 million. The plea agreements with the two individuals are contingent on the company’s guilty pleas and payment of the big fines. The U.S. Attorney for Northern Iowa began an outreach program for victims of the 2010 Salmonella outbreak caused by eggs from the Iowa production facilities owned by Quality Egg LLC. Half-a-billion eggs were recalled during that outbreak, in which as many as 62,000 people may have been sickened. Prosecutors ask anyone who was sickened during the time of the outbreak to visit the Northern District of Iowa U.S. Attorney’s Office website, or to contact Shari Konarske, Victim-Witness Coordinator, at (319) 363-6333 or at shari.konarske@usdoj.gov.