Parnell, the CEO of Georgia's Peanut Corporation of America, sat stone
faced, and took the Fifth in response to every angry question regarding
the bacteria-tainted products he defiantly told employees to ship to
some 50 manufacturers of cookies, crackers and ice cream.
"Turn them loose," Parnell had told his plant manager in an
internal e-mail disclosed at the House hearing. The e-mail referred to
products that once were deemed contaminated but were cleared in a
second test last year.
Summoned by congressional subpoena, the owner of Peanut Corp. of
America repeatedly invoked his right not to incriminate himself at the
House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on the salmonella
outbreak that has sickened some 600 people, may be linked to nine
deaths - the latest reported in Ohio on Wednesday - and resulted in one
of the largest product recalls of more than 1,900 items.
White-collar crime to shame even Madoff
The man accused of distributing peanuts that lead to an outbreak of salmonella that sickened thousands and killed eight refused to answer any of the first round of questions thrown his way.