Charges filed against tomato mogul

Federal authorities filed new charges Thursday in their case against tomato scion Frederick Scott Salyer, alleging a wider conspiracy that set inflated prices for tomato products.

The indictment charged Salyer, who had been head of agribusiness giant SK Foods, with five new felony counts and alleged that he conspired with others to fix prices or rig bids on products sold to three of the company’s customers — McCain Foods USA, ConAgra Foods Inc. and Kraft Foods Inc.

Though the indictment doesn’t name Salyer’s co-conspirators, it could signal a push by the U.S. Justice Department to broaden its ongoing investigation into California’s tomato processing industry.

Read the full article at the LA Times