Tyson Acquitted on All Charges

Tyson Foods Inc. and three of its managers on March 26 were acquitted by a federal court jury in Chattanooga, Tenn., of conspiring to smuggle illegal immigrants to work at its poultry plants.

Prosecutors for the United States Justice Department had accused the Springdale firm of conspiracy to violate immigration laws, fraud and obstruction of justice.

The trial lasted six weeks before the defense rested March 21. The jury began deliberating March 25.

United States District Judge R. Allan Edgar had dismissed 24 of the 36 counts against the world’s largest producer of meat before leaving the final 12 counts with the jury.

Immigration law experts said a conviction could have raised the bar for employers to bear more responsibility for the legal status of workers.

Tyson Foods and three of its managers had been accused of hiring illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America as part of a conspiracy to boost production and profits for the company. The government’s indictment came in December 2001 after an investigation that began in 1997.

Tyson’s lawyers argued the government failed to show that Hispanics transported by undercover agents to the company’s poultry plants were in the U.S. illegally.

It has been a tough year for Tyson Foods, seeing its shares dive to record lows. When the charges were filed, shares were trading over $12. They were still down on March 26, closing 18 cents from the open of market at $7.97 per share. But the decision is expected to give an immediate boost to the company.

The managers acquitted were Keith Snyder, 44, of Bella Vista, a manager at the Noel, Mo. plant; Robert Hash, 50, of Greenwood, vice president of the company’s retail fresh division; and Gerald Lankford, 64, of North Wilkesboro, N.C., retired division human resources manager.