Posted: 10/22/2013 11:31:59 AM MDT
Updated: 10/22/2013 11:38:11 AM MDT
Two brothers who owned a Colorado cantaloupe farm behind a 2011 listeria epidemic that killed 33 people pleaded guilty to six charges on Tuesday and could face up to six years in federal prison.
Eric and Ryan Jensen, ages 37 and 33, were each charged with six federal misdemeanor counts of introducing and delivering adulterated food into interstate commerce.
Although they could face six years, federal guidelines call for a sentence of four to 10 months. In addition, each brother could be fined up to $250,000 for each of the six counts. They are scheduled to be sentenced at 9 a.m. on Jan. 28.
'It's another step forward in bringing closure to the tragic events upon which the criminal charges in this case are based,' the brothers said in a statement released by their attorneys. 'The plea agreements reflect the continuing cooperation by Eric and Ryan Jensen with federal authorities since the investigation began in September 2011.'
Food-safety experts said it is difficult to predict what final penalties the judge could impose because food-safety violations in the United States are so rarely prosecuted as crimes.
The brothers are suing the inspector who gave them a 'superior' safety report in 2011 as the deadly melons were shipping to grocery stores.
The lawsuit was filed against Primus Group, a food auditing company based in California. Attorneys for the Jensens said they intend to donate any money obtained from the lawsuit to a fund for victims.
The 2011 listeria epidemic was one of the nation's deadliest outbreaks of a foodborne illness. Colorado and federal investigators quickly matched listeria cases to contamination on the Jensens' farm in southeastern Colorado and said they had made changes to their harvesting system that promoted the spread of bacteria.
Prosecutors said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the Jensens used the wrong equipment to sort melons and eliminated a crucial sanitizing step.
The Jensens' attorneys have said their clients cooperated with investigators from the beginning and feel great sympathy for the listeria victims. Prosecutors decided not to charge them with more serious felonies, which food-safety experts have said would require proof the Jensens knew their produce was contaminated or knew their actions were dangerous.
The Jensens filed bankruptcy after the outbreak and assigned their insurance money to a compensation pool created for victims who have sued them and others in the food chain.
The men were released on $100,000 unsecured bonds after their initial not-guilty pleas on Sept. 26. Jensen attorneys said one of the brothers' net worth was down to a small amount of home equity.
Prosecutors said people in 28 states ate the cantaloupe and 147 people were hospitalized. In addition to the 33 official deaths, the listeria caused a miscarriage, and more patients who had the illness died of various causes months after the outbreak.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671, tmcghee@denverpost.com or twitter.com/dpmcghee
