This is a guest post from FelineDadinFla, who has been following the important story from the beginning.
Anyone remember the pet-food recall of 2007?…
Anyone lost a pet from that, or had one sick?…
Anyone disgusted or angered over it?….
Reasonable estimates are that as many as four or five thousand dogs and cats were killed in the contamination of melamine and melamine-analogs in pet foods, perhaps twenty to thirty thousand made sick, dozens of manufacturers and over a hundred labels affected, costing millions to industry, thousands of taxpayer dollars spent by the FDA and USDA in investigation, and by the US Attorney’s office in investigation and prosecution.
The company which imported the contaminated food ingredient into the US, Chemnutra, and its principals Steven and Sally-Qing Miller, were indicted and prosecuted over it, charged with a total of 27 counts (one a felony, all the others misdemeanors).
In an agreement with the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri, Chemnutra and Mr. and Mrs. Miller have pleaded guilty to two of the misdemeanor counts.
As part of the plea agreement the US Attorney is recommending to the judge for the Millers and ChemNutra a sentence of three years probation (PDF link) and monetary fines of $25,000 for ChemNutra; $5,000 for each of the Millers individually.
Pet-guardians… those current, and those aggrieved.. even those with dogs and cats which were unaffected, should all consider this sentencing recommendation sickening and disconcerting…
In the last few years we’ve seen numerous recalls of pet foods, humans sickened and killed due to E-coli contamination in spinach, sickened and killed due to contamination of the prescription blood-thinner Heparin, sickened and killed by Salmonella in peanut butter and peanut products … and it continues.
To date, no one has been given a severe sentence, much less seen the inside of a prison cell. The only ones brought before a US criminal court regarding any of these matters (so far) are the Millers and ChemNutra.
This sentencing recommendation, if accepted by the court as agreed to by the US Attorney’s office and Chemnutra/the Millers, unchanged, provides neither justice nor deterrence. Without deterrence … what else might find its way into our pets foods NEXT year?
Bernard Madoff’s sentencing hearing was a few days ago. Victims and their family members were heard from, prior to the judge handing down the sentence. I don’t see why this should be any different.
Pet owners who had their dogs or cats sickened as a result of this episode, or worse, lost a pet, if they live close enough to Kansas City, should want to be heard from during the Chemnutra/Miller’s sentencing hearing.
And for all the rest of us who don’t live close enough, or can’t make it to K.C., then I’m encouraging those to set aside a few minutes to protect their pets… by writing the judge who will be handing down the sentence.
So I’m asking pet-guardians to write:
Judge John T. Maughmer, U.S. Magistrate
U.S. Magistrate Judge Room 7662
US District Court for the Western District of Missouri
Charles Evans Whittaker Courthouse Building
400 E. 9th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106
Tell him how disgusted and angered you are over this episode and this sentencing recommendation.
The sentence given to Bernard Madoff (150 years) is one which will cause anyone else contemplating doing what he did to pause and think long and hard about the consequences.
Ask the judge for a more appropriate sentence, one which provides deterrence.
In a follow up question of my own, I asked if there were any indications that these defendants had premeditated culpability in this instance, (they knew the gluten was contaminated,) or were they claiming they were simply negligent in not testing something from a trusted supplier? FelineDadinFla replied:
It was the opinion of the criminal/forensic investigative team that Mrs. Sally-Qing Miller, having an advanced degree in ‘Food Chemical Engineering’ (doesn’t sound quite the same as ‘gluten-stirrer,’ does it?…) and past experience as an ‘ISO 900′ inspector and having been born in China and all the while being based there… that she was a position where she should have known that melamine would create a false-high protein indication, and that (mis)labeling the wheat-gluten as a ‘non-food’ item would alleviate the need for pre-export inspection in China. (Supported in this article here.)
Two years ago Stephen Miller in testimony before the House Energy and Commerce committee, subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, claimed they were negligent in not testing from a trusted supplier… ‘we were victims here.’
Prepared written statement, and archived webcast video here.
(He doesn’t appear until the second panel, so if you’re viewing the video, forward it up at least two and a half hours until the second panel is seated.)
They were charged with 13 counts of ‘introduction of mislabeled’ and 13 counts of ‘introduction of adulterated’…. (13 shipments in total.) They pled guilty to one count each of ‘mislabeled’ and ‘adulterated.’
If they pleaded ‘guilty’ … kind of hard to say they didn’t know…. They themselves may not have done the ‘adulterating’… but they (or she) had to have known.
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Compare this sentence recommendation to what happened to Michael Vick. Vick is responsible for the deaths of maybe several dozen dogs and he served almost two years. These people are responsible for the deaths of 100x more pet dogs and cats, and they do no time at all. I’m (again) disgusted with our “justice” system.
ChipMac:
you said “…they do no time at all…”
They haven’t been sentenced yet (!) …
That’s why you and me and others writing the judge can have some impact…
I’m sorry but this is beyond vindictive. I totally disagree with your logic and motivations. Of COURSE they plead guilty to two charges. It’s what’s called a “plea bargain”.
I would venture that they DID NOT know they were receiving contaminated goods. It’s simply too neat a theory. That the manufacturers in China did this is valid and unfortunately a standard practice there. For that matter, there was another Melamine scandal in Asia in the recent past, where contaminated dairy products were sold and poisoned HUMAN CHILDREN. Note these products never reached the USA (which shows exactly how highly we value human health, at least, over pet health).
Blaming these importers is simply looking for someone whom can be reached by US law. The REAL criminals are beyond our jurisdiction, and that is what makes this so sad. The truth is many pet owners have themselves to blame in part, by feeding their pets bastardized food-wastings and other false calories, in contravention of anything approaching the pets’ natural diet.
After all, how many people have gradually sickened their animals on these waste-products? What this episode was, is a wake-up call: most commercial brands of pet food are garbage—the labeling and packaging an illusion of differentiation. In the final analysis, you should watch what you feed your pets, just as you should your children (whom you wouldn’t feed McDonald’s to all the time, by way of analogy).
Leave these poor bastards alone. They never meant to do this. It was an ACCIDENT.
Why, then, was the shipment marked “non-food” to avoid inspection? That’s a red flag.
From this link.
They knew.
Again, it’s too neat. It’s a conspiracy theory. Never ascribe to malice that which can best be ascribed to incompetence… or even ignorance. Besides, this isn’t the only instance of dodgy Chinese imports: http://bit.ly/KxLMu
Also from your article: “… falsely labeled to avoid inspection IN CHINA…” (emphasis mine). Don’t tell me that they weren’t sold a bill of goods. Just because she’s from China, and has a Food Chemistry degree? Isn’t that at best circumstantial? She DOES work in the FOOD industry, after all…
And again, Melamine has caused HUMAN deaths in CHINA from contaminated DAIRY.
[...] $5,000 for each of the Millers individually.” Writing a guest article for the blog, “The Way of Cats,” he argues, “Bernard Madoff’s sentencing hearing was a few days ago. Victims and [...]
[...] $5,000 for each of the Millers individually.” Writing a guest article for the blog, “The Way of Cats,” he argues, “Bernard Madoff’s sentencing hearing was a few days ago. Victims and [...]
In addition to writing letters to the Judge/magistrate Maughmer, pet owners
need to write to the Probation Office doing the presentence investigation of ChemNutra and the Millers here:
Mr. Dickson Noelle
U.S. Probation Office
Western District of Missouri
400 E. 9th Street, Rm. 4510
Kansas City, MO 64106
The judge is not obligated to follow the recommendation of U.S. Attorney’s Office, any more than the Madoff judge was.
What in the world happened to this case? Importers will have a green light to poison pets and people again for a few extra bucks if ChemNutra walks.
Sentencing scheduled for the 5th of February.
http://thedailybite.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/park-criminal-liability-doctrine/
It appears the Millers are raising objections to part(s) of their complaint/sentencing agreement:
“These plea agreement terms foreclose the defendants from raising the factual objections which are currently before the court. Every factual objection can be traced to one or more allegations in the indictment which the defendants either admitted was true or agreed could be used
to determine their sentence. By raising these objections, the defendants could be viewed as being in breach of the terms of the plea agreement. In case of breach, the Government is released from its obligations under the agreement, the defendants remain bound by their guilty pleas, and the defendants are sentenced without the benefit of the promises made by the Government.5″
I hope they don’t agree to withdraw their objections. Why? It’s then the onus of the Court to give them what they deserve.. not the disgusting wrist slap they were offered. The plea agreement is as horrific to me as the poisoning of the pets. I WANT to see them go to trial or at least pay a substantial penalty and have a longer probation.
If our government doesn’t have the balls to punish those who commit such acts as excerpted below from the docketed Government Sentencing Memorandum, how do they expect this type of adulterating food for profit to the determent of humans or animals cease?
( “Because of the neglect of these defendants, because they failed to exercise foresight and vigilance, the public suffered greatly. Thousands of innocent pets became seriously ill and many suffered death. It is impossible to talk about this case without realizing that the defendant’s criminal conduct posed and caused substantial physical injuries, death, and psychological injuries.”)
Per the Docket entry, Chem Nutra ceased operation , but the Millers went right on with EOS Direct – importing from China with no obvious restrictions or restraints.
http://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/Buyers-Guide.aspx?li=64675
Are you holding your breath? Does this remove all the truth in advertising we had come to trust? Never again. this is a “Natural Products” advertisement.
Track records are apparently worthless when it comes to marketing & advertising.
Unother DJ, you need to get your facts straight. One thing you said is accurate, it is standard practice and has been for quite some time to receive contaminated goods from China. So if thats accurate, which it is and you agree, why in the world would the Millers have wheat gluten shipped to the U.S. marked as non-food? It was to avoid inspection. Where was their testing and QC to make sure the item they were receiving wasnt contaminated? Melamine is not a new chemical and Sally Miller originally based in China would have known that.
Your statement saying contaminated dairy product did not reach the U.S. is totally false. It DID reach the U.S., go read all the FDA recall and import notices. There were several recalls of not only baby formula but also cookies, biscuits and candy. The items were sent to stores that mostly sell China baby formula, etc.
And to blame pet owners for the deaths of their pets is really just disgusting. They fed products that were allowed to be marketed as safe, healthy and nutritious and certainly not contaminated with melamine and cyanuric acid. You are right in that China is part of the problem BUT if we all know that, and we do, including the pet food manufactures AND importers, there is no excuse that they werent on the lookout for this type of problem and sadly, they still arent because they avoid the proper testing and quality control measures that would help ensure this doesnt happen again. Its called saving money to maximize their profit.
Heres a couple of pics showing what contaminated wheat gluten looked like. http://www.labservices.uoguelph.ca/urgent.cfm
It didnt even take testing to see something was wrong with it. So for some reason Chem-Nutra couldnt even just look at it and wonder why it didnt look normal? What about Menu Foods who received it from Chem-Nutra who for some reason has been let off the hook on all of this.
So Im guessing you didnt have a pet harmed or killed from this food because if you did, I can guess you wouldnt be singing the defense song for Chem-Nutra…or if you still did, you may not feel as strongly about your pet as I did. You are right about the Millers, bastards yes, poor no.
The dying has been going on in my house for over three years! It isn’t over yet,
I go to sleep every damn day after caring for damaged pets, wake to the grim reality of paying the vet bills, the three years of- interest -on the vet bills for the pets who died three years ago, worry about how to pay the bills for the pets who still struggle and honey, let me tell you, cremation expenses aint cheap either.
My pets got a death sentence and I have already served three years of hard, horrid labor and grief so yeah, a little justice would be a nice change. Considering the gift of a deal offered by the court I figure the fix is in and the bribes were hefty because mere peasant pet owners sure have not been gifted thus, see the classic screw job the class action lawyers are doing on the pet owners.
The pet food apocalypse that the Millers inflicted on all of us has been a nightmare for three years , how long is it going to go on while the poisoners skate!!??
That the poisoners have a newly named company to do it AGAIN is not good news for anyone.
The Millers seem to have had a more pleasant and profitable three years than I had. Or the people nursing kidney failure pets , paying astounding vet bills, grieving the lost.
I can’t call it closure that the federal courts are as easy to buy off as the FDA but it certainly is the end of something.
Sad.
Posting comments on a blog like this (or any) today is of no value or consequence, whatever amount of grief you’re enduring or had to endure.
However — you can still do something … but it must be done today because it’s now too late to travel to Kansas City or send mail there. The statement “gift of a deal offered by the court” is incorrect. The “gift of a deal” you reference is the sentencing recommendation made by the US Attorney to the court, not by the court/judge. The judge hands down his sentencing decision tomorrow Feb 5th. He can pass sentence as recommended by the US Attorney … or he can make his own decision.
So this is what you can do today : The name of the judge is John T. Maughmer. His courtroom deputy is a Kerry Martinez with an e-address of kerry_martinez@mow.uscourts.gov Write a letter to the judge care of Deputy Kerry Martinez. Make it respectful, on the shorter side, clear, yes go ahead and make it emotional (but also factually correct). Tell the judge what you’ve been through the last three to four years.
Also, the e-address of the District Court or General Information is dchelp@mow.uscourts.gov . Send it there as well to the attention Judge Maughmer.
FelineDadinFla is right. I just sent off a short, but heartfelt, letter. I urge everyone reading this to do so.
i’m incorrect, the 5th is Friday, not today. Has anyone been able to get a fax # ?….
Don’t forget to write the probation office! They keep records for a long time.
Reports are arriving that the Martinez email is sending auto replies of being out of the office until Feb 8th.
Very convenient.
Yes, the mail I sent to the Deputy Martinez e-address came back. The mail I sent here : dchelp@mow.uscourts.gov didn’t.
The Millers pay 5 grand each, the Chemnutra company pays 25 grand, insurance covered, for a total of 35 thousand dollars.
Paid to the court.
No jail.
The wholesale slaughter of pets is a profitable business. And entirely legal.
A last minute switcheroony of the judge means that none of the letters or emails that so many pet owners cried while writing ever mattered and may not have even been read.
The Millers will be having champagne, flavored with the tears of grieving pet owners , in their luxury home in Las Vegas tonight.