Fitzgerald indicted people for storing rat-infested food warehouse!

LOL! Gotta love him. Karl Rove and Dick Cheney should be worried to have a prosecutor like this after them. This is a very funny yet serious news article with funny quotes from Patrick Fitzgerald.

Executives indicted over rat-infested food warehouse
Sarah Schulte

June 18, 2003 - Last year, federal agents seized millions of pounds of contaminated meat and other food products inside a warehouse they say was rat-infested. A year later, a cold storage company and three of its executives face federal indictments on charges they conspired to hide the infestation.

The indictment follows the largest spoiled food seizure in U.S. history. LaGrou is a Chicago-based company that's known for providing storage of food products for the Taste of Chicago and the Air and Water Show. Prosecutors say despite the seizure, there is no evidence that anyone in the Chicago area became ill by food stored in the warehouse.

Inside the 500-square foot food storage warehouse, at one point there were so many rats that federal prosecutors say 62,000 pounds of meat was destroyed just to keep the rodents from eating it. A year after the LaGrou Cold Storage Facility was shut down the company's president and two other executives face federal charges-- CEO, Jack Stewart of Burr Ridge; director of sales Michael Faucher of Western Springs; and warehouse manager David Smith of Frankfort.

"The conduct charged in indictments consists of lying to customers who stored meats and other food there," said U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said LaGrou executives went out of their way to lie about a huge rat problem and unsanitary conditions. The indictment alleges that weekly meetings were held to discuss the problem. In addition, LaGrou employees known as "rat patrols" were ordered to remove dead rats and droppings from the warehouse.

The indictment alleges that for internal record keeping, bills for rat-contaminated products were marked with initials M.M., which prosecutors say stand for Mickey Mouse.

"There is a substantial rodent problem if they had a rat patrol, meeting on a weekly basis and taking notes on Mickey Mouse, that is a problem," said Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald says LaGrou would tell its customers that products were damaged because forklifts at faulty packaging. More than 100 wholesale companies stored their products at LaGrou. Why not clean-up instead of cover-up? Prosecutors believe it was out of greed.

"A company that looks at a problem and decides what does it cost to remedy the problem versus breaking the law, recognize that breaking the law will bring a response. And we'll hold presidents and C.E.O.'S accountable," said Fitzgerald.

more here.....
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=News&id=230681

One honest man does his job and we get all excited.

Well, I do.

"500 square foot warehouse"

????

500 square feet is the size of a studio apartment, not a warehouse.

the ex-gov George Ryan trial, the Rove/Plame deal, the Chicago hired truck scandal deal, and the Aurora street gangleaders deal, Patrick Fitzgerald is one busy MoFo.

Of course he has a kick-ass staff, but the dude deserves some serious overtime pay.

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ps. I find it curious that someone named cat_girl25 would post an item about rat-infested food. I figure the headline is what caught her attention and perked up her ears. :smoke:

And what caught my attention was any article on Pat Fitagerald. :-)