ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, July 25, 1996 TAG: 9607250061
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JAN VERTEFEUILLE STAFF WRITER
The first person prosecuted for violating federal laws designed to protect the food supply from drug-laced meat was sentenced Wednesday to six months in prison.
W.W. Bennett Hurt, 35, a Blacksburg livestock dealer, pleaded guilty in Roanoke federal court to one count of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud. Six other charges, including several of making false statements to investigators, were dropped in return for his guilty plea to the one charge.
Hurt was fined $2,500.
More than 150 times from 1989 to 1993, cattle sold by Hurt were found to have drug residue deemed unsafe for human consumption, according to the 1993 indictment against him. The drugs included the antibiotics penicillin and tetracycline.
"The primary concern of the government is the cows he sold contained illegal and volatile levels that caused the food supply to be contaminated and caused consumers to be put at risk," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jean Hudson.
Hurt had the most violations of anyone ever caught by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and was the first to be prosecuted for violating laws designed to control antibiotic levels in cattle, Hudson said. In smaller cases, the government usually seeks injunctions against the violator or takes civil action.
Hurt, who continues to work in the cattle industry but not as a self-employed dealer, was one of Virginia's largest dealers in crippled and old cattle. He admitted buying diseased cattle and selling them to a Lynchburg slaughterhouse specializing in meat for humans - even though he knew the cows might have excessive amounts of drugs in them.
Selling sick, old or "down" cattle - those too sick to stand up - is legal. But those with high concentrations of drugs aren't supposed to be sold for slaughter until they have been held long enough for the drugs to pass from their system. Some unscrupulous dealers don't want to wait that long for fear the animals will die.
According to a 21-page indictment, Hurt sold more than 1,300 head of cattle - for more than $700,000 - to Dinner Bell Meat Products Inc. of Lynchburg from 1989 to 1993. Drug residue was found in at least 150 of those animals.
Hurt has come under state and federal government scrutiny in the past. His trading privileges were suspended in 1988 by the U.S. Packers and Stockyards Administration for issuing bad checks, failing to pay for livestock and failing to pay full price for livestock. A federal injunction in 1991 prevented him from operating without being properly bonded and registered.
As part of his plea agreement, Hurt may continue selling "down" cattle, but must keep strict records of from whom he buys them, when and where he sells them and whether they've been medicated.
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