The federal judge who has presided over the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) criminal case will conduct his likely last hearing in the case today, and the victims of the 2008-09 Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak are waiting for his restitution order.

When the victims were heard prior to sentencing, Randy Napier and Jeff Almer, two men whose mothers were both among the nine fatalities of the outbreak linked to PCA products, suggested to Sands that the Court impose $500,000 in restitution on the criminal defendants for groups that help victims and advocate for safe food. And earlier, Sands heard testimony on damages suffered by both outbreak victims and businesses that were forced to recall more than 3,900 products because they contained PCA peanut butter or paste as ingredients. The overdue restitution comes just two weeks short of the third anniversary of the indictments against PCA’s executives and their peanut broker. But don’t look for many of them to be in court today. Stewart and Michael Parnell are going to miss their likely last chance to face Judge W. Louis Sands in U.S. District Court in Albany, GA. Sands is finishing up what should be his last task in the PCA criminal case—the restitution hearing for the Parnell brothers , and the two men who ran PCA’s Blakely, GA peanut processing plant, Samuel Lightsey and Daniel Kilgore. Stewart Parnell was PCA’s chief executive and Michael was his peanut broker brother. Sentenced by Sands, respectively, to 28 and 20 years in prison, Stewart and Michael Parnell have waived their right to be present for today’s restitution hearing. In sworn statements, both said they did not want to be delayed any longer in being transferred to their federal prison assignments. Both men were being held in the Crisp County, GA jail, not far from the federal court in Albany where they were convicted by a jury and sentenced by Sands. Lightsey, who was being held at the Grady County Correctional Facility in Oklahoma, also asked to be excused from today’s hearing. His defense attorney, James W. Parkman, III, said his client “wishes to be transported to the facility the Bureau of Prisons has selected for him to serve sentence.” Lightsey apparently thinks attending the hearing will delay his transfer. Sands said he was willing to excuse Lightsey from the proceedings only with a sworn statement signed by the defendant as he required of the Parnell brothers. Late yesterday, it was not clear if Parkman would show up with his client or his signed affidavit waiving his presence. Lightsey, who became a key government witness at trial, was sentenced to three years. Daniel Kilgore, who will apparently will appear today at the Albany hearing, is serving a six year term. He also entered into a plea bargain with the government that saw him testify during the trial. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons currently reports none of the four men are in its custody. The U.S. Marshals Service is charged with moving those in federal custody for court appearances and relocations. Being “parked” in a local jail or state correctional facility is usually viewed as being less desirable than being in a federal prison. The fifth PCA defendant, 42-year old Mary Wilkerson, is not involved in the restitution hearing because her obstruction of justice conviction was for conduct during the investigation not during the criminal enterprise surrounding PCA.  She is serving five years at the federal co-ed minimum/medium security prison in Marianna, FL. Sands began hearing testimony on restitution before sentencing of the defendants began last Sept. 21. The judge acknowledges he has missed the 90-day deadline for reaching a restitution order after sentencing, but says he maintains jurisdiction because he “had concluded that restitution was mandatory as to each of the above named Defendants and that the only outstanding issues is the amount of restitution.” The judge originally wanted today’s hearing held in early December, but Lightsey and Kilgore were already being held out of state and the Bureau of Prisons said they could not be moved about that quickly.  Sands then set the restitution hearing for today “in the interest of justice and judicial economy.” The principal defense attorneys will be in Sands court this morning for the hearing even if their clients are absent. The Parnell brothers and Wilkerson have appealed their convictions and sentences to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta. Circuit judges have extended their deadlines to accommodate today’s action in District Court. A federal jury in September 2014 convicted the Parnell brothers on multiple federal felony counts involving conspiracy and fraud along with shipping contaminated peanut products in interstate commerce.   Those shipments sickened thousands and resulted in nine deaths.   (To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)