Father Jack DeCoster, 79, and
his son, Peter, 50, have agreed to pay $7 million to settle a lawsuit after
eggs from their business, Quality Egg in Iowa, caused Salmonella food poisoning
for at least 2,000 people.
Quality Egg recalled about
550 million eggs in 2010.
Prosecutors allege that the
DeCosters offered bribes to public officials at least twice in 2010.
On April 12, they say Tony
Wasmund, a former Quality Egg employee, offered a government inspector $300 if
he would release detained eggs so they could be sent to market.
Wasmund,
63, of Willmar, Minn., pleaded guilty in September, 2012, to conspiring to
bribe an egg inspector. His sentencing has been rescheduled four times, leading
to speculation prosecutors were using his testimony against the DeCosters.
The
trial information also states Quality Egg knowingly sold eggs between Jan. 1,
2006, and Aug. 12, 2010, that were mislabeled to appear fresher than they were.
