By Kevin Murphy
For the Times
MADISON - Miguel Leal, of Monroe, a former cheese company president, recently pleaded guilty in federal court to distributing thousands of pounds of contaminated cheese in 2007.
Leal, 51, faces maximum statutory penalties of 13 years in prison, fines and restitution at his July 31 sentencing in federal court based in Chicago. Leal's sentencing will be imposed from the less severe advisory sentencing guidelines that factor in the seriousness of the offense, any prior convictions, role in the offense and other relevant conduct.
Leal remains released on standard conditions until his sentencing.
Leal and three other individuals were indicted in April 2012 with conspiracy to introduce adulterate food into interstate commerce, and obstructing an investigation in what became known as the "moldy cheese case."
The indictment alleged that Leal, as president of Mexican Cheese Producers, Inc., accepted 110,000 pounds of Queso Cinco de Querrero brand cheese in three shipments from a Mexican company owned by Guadalupe Zurita. The cheese was tainted with salmonella, E. coli and other bacteria that indicated it was made with unpasteurized milk.
In April 2007, food inspectors placed a hold on the cheese stored at an Elmhurst, Ill. warehouse so it could be inspected and sampled, but instead the cheese was shipped to customers in several states.
Retailers returned the cheese saying they could not sell it because it was slimy and moldy.
According to the indictment:
Investigators determined that company employees "washed" and scraped the mold off the uninspected cheese and shipped it to stores in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Georgia and Texas. Leal also was accused of lying to authorities about what happened to the missing cheese and sending false documents to the Food and Drug Administration.
The company issued a recall for the cheese, sold in 35- and 40-pound wheels, in September 2007; however, no deaths or illnesses were reported in connection with the contaminated cheese.
Leal owned a cheese company that had a plant in Darlington and the Elmhurst warehouse that stored the moldy cheese beginning in 2007. Leal sold his company to a Mexican firm in July 2007.
Leal's co-conspirators included:
Cynthia Gutierrez, 41, of Cicero, Ill. who was Leal's finance and operations manager before the company was sold, and worked at the Elmhurst warehouse from April 2007 to October 2008.
Leal and Gutierrez allegedly conspired to sell 311 cartons of cheese in April 2007 to customers before the cheese was inspected or sampled by the FDA.
Guadalupe Zurita, also known as "Jose Zurita," 46, of Villahermosa, Mexico, owned Quesos Sabrosos Mexicanos, a Mexican company that imported the cheese involved in the conspiracy.
Baldemar Zurita, also known as "Tony Zurita," 41, of Chicago, is Guadalupe Zurita's brother and worked for him from at least March through September 2007.
The cheese had "the potential to be contaminated with salmonella, an organism which can cause serious ... infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems," the FDA said at the time of the product recall.
Gutierrez, Guadalupe Zurita and Baldemar Zurita are still awaiting trial in their cases.
An attorney for Leal could not immediately be reached for comment late Monday.
-Kevin Murphy is a
freelance journalist based in Madison.
For the Times
MADISON - Miguel Leal, of Monroe, a former cheese company president, recently pleaded guilty in federal court to distributing thousands of pounds of contaminated cheese in 2007.
Leal, 51, faces maximum statutory penalties of 13 years in prison, fines and restitution at his July 31 sentencing in federal court based in Chicago. Leal's sentencing will be imposed from the less severe advisory sentencing guidelines that factor in the seriousness of the offense, any prior convictions, role in the offense and other relevant conduct.
Leal remains released on standard conditions until his sentencing.
Leal and three other individuals were indicted in April 2012 with conspiracy to introduce adulterate food into interstate commerce, and obstructing an investigation in what became known as the "moldy cheese case."
The indictment alleged that Leal, as president of Mexican Cheese Producers, Inc., accepted 110,000 pounds of Queso Cinco de Querrero brand cheese in three shipments from a Mexican company owned by Guadalupe Zurita. The cheese was tainted with salmonella, E. coli and other bacteria that indicated it was made with unpasteurized milk.
In April 2007, food inspectors placed a hold on the cheese stored at an Elmhurst, Ill. warehouse so it could be inspected and sampled, but instead the cheese was shipped to customers in several states.
Retailers returned the cheese saying they could not sell it because it was slimy and moldy.
According to the indictment:
Investigators determined that company employees "washed" and scraped the mold off the uninspected cheese and shipped it to stores in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Georgia and Texas. Leal also was accused of lying to authorities about what happened to the missing cheese and sending false documents to the Food and Drug Administration.
The company issued a recall for the cheese, sold in 35- and 40-pound wheels, in September 2007; however, no deaths or illnesses were reported in connection with the contaminated cheese.
Leal owned a cheese company that had a plant in Darlington and the Elmhurst warehouse that stored the moldy cheese beginning in 2007. Leal sold his company to a Mexican firm in July 2007.
Leal's co-conspirators included:
Cynthia Gutierrez, 41, of Cicero, Ill. who was Leal's finance and operations manager before the company was sold, and worked at the Elmhurst warehouse from April 2007 to October 2008.
Leal and Gutierrez allegedly conspired to sell 311 cartons of cheese in April 2007 to customers before the cheese was inspected or sampled by the FDA.
Guadalupe Zurita, also known as "Jose Zurita," 46, of Villahermosa, Mexico, owned Quesos Sabrosos Mexicanos, a Mexican company that imported the cheese involved in the conspiracy.
Baldemar Zurita, also known as "Tony Zurita," 41, of Chicago, is Guadalupe Zurita's brother and worked for him from at least March through September 2007.
The cheese had "the potential to be contaminated with salmonella, an organism which can cause serious ... infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems," the FDA said at the time of the product recall.
Gutierrez, Guadalupe Zurita and Baldemar Zurita are still awaiting trial in their cases.
An attorney for Leal could not immediately be reached for comment late Monday.
-Kevin Murphy is a
freelance journalist based in Madison.