Personal Injury Law

Nine dead, over 700 sickened by Salmonella Peanuts and Stewart Parnell is a free man?

By Bill Marler, Esq.

Thinking I had to be up at 4:30 AM this morning to participate in a phone conference (it is actually Friday morning – I'm a day ahead here in Australia), I awoke at 3:30 AM to Mary Clare Jalonick's article about Stewart Parnell's new job – consulting for the peanut industry – REALLY? Her best opening lines:

The peanut industry executive whose filthy processing plants were blamed in a Salmonella outbreak two years ago that killed nine people and sickened hundreds more is back in the business.

Stewart Parnell, former president of the now-bankrupt Peanut Corp. of America, is working as a consultant to peanut companies as the federal government's criminal investigation against him has languished for more than 18 months, The Associated Press has learned.

Parnell, who invoked the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying before Congress in February 2009, once directed employees to "turn them loose" after samples of peanuts had tested positive for Salmonella and then were cleared in a second test, according to e-mails uncovered at the time by congressional investigators.

Where is justice in this? More to the point, where are the US Attorneys for Virginia and Georgia? A well place rumor has it that witnesses are still being interviewed (lab folks), so, a Grand Jury may still await Mr. Parnell. But, for the families who have suffered, should not someone light a fire under this?

Full post as published by Marler Blog on September 08, 2010 (boomark / email).