Food Grading Bribery Scheme Nets 21

October 28, 1999

Twenty-one people, including eight USDA employees, have been arrested in a bribery scheme at a Bronx, NY, wholesale produce market. The investigation was conducted by USDA's office of inspector general.

The investigation disclosed that the owners of the wholesale markets at the Hunts Point Terminal Market, Bronx, NY, were routinely paying cash bribes to USDA graders in exchange for a reduction in grade of the produce, says Inspector General Roger C. Viadero. The resulting reduction in grade -- for example, from U.S. Grade A to U.S. Grade B -- could save the wholesaler a substantial amount of money per load. Consequently, the primary victims were U.S. farmers and their families who lost million of dollars, USDA says.

Eight fruit and vegetable graders from USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service were charged with accepting bribes from wholesale fruit and vegetable establishments. The arrests included owners and employees of 13 establishments located at Hunts Point, the largest fruit and vegetable distribution center in the country.