Guilty Plea In Residue Case

August 9, 1996

On July 18, 1996, in the federal court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Richard Eugene Gorr and Jeffrey Lee Gorr, operating as Gorr Livestock, pled guilty to conspiracy to introduce adulterated food into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud and mislead. The Gorrs were livestock dealers, buying, selling, and transporting livestock, including cattle, obtained from farmers and auction markets, to meat packers for slaughter for food for human consumption. Gorr Livestock specialized in sick, old, and crippled cattle which frequently had been treated with antibiotics and other drugs prior to sale or while they were in the possession of the Gorrs. The Gorrs had been identified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service as the source for more than 30 animals containing illegal levels of drugs. Also, on three separate occasions, the Gorrs purchased from undercover FDA agents animals which they were told were medicated, and subsequently sold those animals for human food.

This is the first undercover criminal investigation for the practice of knowingly selling medicated animals for slaughter for human food. This investigation was a cooperative effort between FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations, FDA's Detroit District Office, the Michigan Department of Agriculture, and the Michigan State Police.

Sentencing is scheduled to take place on October 10, 1996. Each defendant faces up to 6 months in prison and/or a fine of $10,000.