Tyson Foods, Inc. has over 123 food processing plants where it manufactures animal meat products and other processed animal product varieties. In 2004, a plant manager in Mexico noticed that two women had been getting paid 30,700 pesos, about $2700 per month, according to plant financial records, and they had been receiving this money for years. The manager claimed that they had “most definitely” not worked for Tyson Foods. When it turned out that these women were the wives of veterinarians employed to track and monitor animal health in compliance with high standards and regulations, the picture became more clear. It was even acknowledged in an executives meeting that these payments were obviously bribes and were meant to “keep the veterinarians from causing any trouble”. After Tyson Foods lawyers and executives brought this case the Justice Department and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), there was barely any more than a peep about it.

Tyson Foods, Inc. has to pay an SEC fine of $1.2 million dollars and incurred criminal penalties of $4 million because it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (a Congressional Law) by engaging in bribery and conspiracy. But for the world’s largest meat producer, the second largest food production company in the Fortune 500, and one of the largest 100 corporations in the US, according to Forbes, a mere $5.2 million penalty in charges doesn’t seem to really make a dent. Let alone hold responsible the individuals who were behind the initial bribery that started who knows how long ago, to the corporate executives who created the cover up conspiracy (did they start the initial payments themselves?) and masterminded the “solution” of forging the books and transferring the payments to the veterinarians themselves. But this didn’t last for long.

After the corporation paid charges and terms with the SEC and Justice Department were settled, there seemed to be nothing more to do. Records replaced actual names of individuals with vague titles instead, like “VP international” and “senior executive”. James Stewart of the New York Times went to the effort of tying together the evidence in SEC documents referring to titles and public records of when certain employees left the company. What he found was that Greg Huett, president of Tyson International at the time, left in 2007 after being initially “transfered to another management position within the company”. Paul Fox was promoted to VP of processed food production and management a year before he left in July 2006. And previously Tyson’s chief administrative officer, Greg Lee announced his “early retirement” in April 2007, the same month the misconduct of the company was disclosed to the SEC. Greg Lee still enjoys private aircraft use, country club membership, company car leases, and a job in the form of a 10-year consulting contract with Tyson.

So all of the three main executives involved in the conspiracy are gone, but they are still gainfully employed, living large and without consequence, since the SEC considers the matter done and over with. So no individual criminal charges can be made against individuals who commit crimes behind the curtain of a multi-national corporation?  This story is straight out of direct tv movies! Unbelievable! Welcome to America.