Opinion
More than one drought may be over in the heartland of America. Yes, there’s been enough snow and rain to drastically reduce the drought’s footprint on the land of the Southeast and West. But there is also a sign another drought may have ended, that’s the one where food industry executives skate after they’ve poisoned… Continue Reading
UPDATE: U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Q. Langstaff late Friday denied Stewart Parnell’s request to have his U.S. Passport returned, Without a hearing, the Judge said the Court is sympathetic with Parnell’s desire to pursue employment opportunities involving foreign travel, but said conditions of his release are already the “least restrictive necessary” to ensure his future… Continue Reading
ALBANY, GA – U.S. District Court Judge W. Louis Sands on Tuesday approved a schedule for discovery and heard arguments over whether or not former Peanut Corporation of America CEO Stewart Parnell’s co-counsel should remain his lawyer even though concerns have been raised about conflicts of interest. Ironing out such details will set the stage… Continue Reading
The criminal jury trial for former Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) executives should start on Oct. 7, according to an agreement by attorneys involved in the case. Picking the start date for the federal criminal trial is one of several important logistical decisions that U.S. District Court Judge W. Louis Sands is expected to make… Continue Reading
Stewart Parnell, the former chief executive officer of the now defunct Peanut Corporation of American who is facing trial on a long list of criminal charges related to an outbreak of foodborne illness five years ago, wants his passport back. Parnell, 58, of Lynchburg, VA gave up his U.S. passport on Feb. 28 as a… Continue Reading
The government wants one of the attorneys defending former Peanut Corporation of America CEO Stewart Parnell on criminal, fraud and other criminal charges thrown off the case. The attorney the government wants to disqualify for “an alleged potential conflict of interest” is Atlanta-based lawyer Kenneth B. Hodges, III, who is well-known because he was the… Continue Reading
The government and the four accused executives associated with the now defunct Peanut Corporation of America have agreed that the case they are involved in is complex and the ticking countdown of the speedy trial rule has been halted. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia has approved a motion offered by… Continue Reading
Opinion
Four years ago, the people who ran Peanut Corporation of America were not accused felons, but pillars of the “Peanut Proud” town of Blakely, Georgia. When products PCA produced in Blakely were connected to the rapidly growing outbreak of Salmonella typhimurium, I jumped on a plane to Atlanta and turned my rental car south at… Continue Reading
The 52-page Grand Jury indictment of Stewart and Michael Parnell, Samuel Lightsey and Mary Wilkerson tells us a lot more than we knew about now-liquidated Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). The indictment of the four former PCA officials marks a new chapter in the four-year-old drama. It turns to a new page, one involving conspiracy… Continue Reading
The Peanut Corporation of America shut down in 2009 after a massive outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium linked to its products left the company bankrupt. Evidence that company officials knowingly released contaminated product onto the marketplace first surfaced in February of 2009 following an investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Now, four years later,… Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday announced a 76-count indictment has been filed charging four former officials of the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) and a related company for selling Salmonella-contaminated peanut butter products blamed for a nationwide Salmonella outbreak in 2009 that killed 9 people and sickened more than 700. Former PCA owner… Continue Reading