A Pilgrim’s Pride employee who is presently on leave testified before a federal court that Pilgrim’s and its competitors in the poultry industry routinely shared information about pricing and bids “to increase prices or to limit a decrease.”
The person that gave that testimony, Robert Bryant, was called as a witness by the prosecution in a trial taking place in which ten past and present poultry industry executives face federal antitrust charges related to an alleged conspiracy to raise the price of chicken. The trial is being held in Denver.
According to a Bloomberg report, Bryant has admitted that he lied to the Federal Bureau of Investigation “multiple times,” and that he has been given immunity in the case in which collusion is alleged.
“My understanding is it was a two-way street,” Bryant testified. “We received their prices and they received ours.”
However, when cross-examined by attorney Michael Feldberg, Feldberg suggested that Bryant was lying about an agreement reached between the defendants to fix prices and its providing such testimony to avoid criminal charges against him.
Bryant also told of an alleged interaction between KFC contract negotiator Pet Suerken, testifying Suerken told Pilgrim’s Pride executives that “he was going to beat us down with a hammer and a baseball bat” as payback for three years of high chicken prices.
Among the suspects in the case are former Pilgrim’s Pride CEO Bill Lovette, and his successor, Jayson Penn. Neither is presently with the company, which now has Fabio Sandri as its CEO.
Other suspects include Roger Austin, William Kantola, Jimmie Little, all with past affiliations with Pilgrim’s Pride; Mikell Fries, president of Claxton Poultry; Scott Brady, a Claxton Poultry vice president; Gary Brian Roberts, a Case Farms employee formerly affiliated with Tyson Foods; Timothy Mulrenin, a Perdue Farms employee formerly affiliated with Tyson Foods; and Rickie Blake, formerly with George’s.
