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Meat Packing Mafia

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cedardell

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The whole deal with Cool doesn't really make any difference whether it is good or bad for any segment of the industry. It was passed into law by our Nation's lawmakers. Then it was blackballed by special interests in Congress that were working for the packing industry. Sammy"the BUll" Gravano was a mafia captain in the Castelano family. In 1999 he was indicted on 19 murder charges. In order to get exonerated and go free on a witness protection program he testified against Cosa Nostra. In his testimony he went into great length to explain how Cosa Nostra used Unions to gain and keep control over market channels and protect their business interests. He devoted a whole chapter in his book describing how Purdue from Purdue chickens came to Paul Castellano in order to gain access to his retail chain. When Purdue failed to pay the required cut his whole world came crashing down when all his union employees went on strike and all his product was removed from the shelves. In his book Sammy also describesd how they controled Congressmen and Federal Judges. Now you can call this all bull, but the FBI and Justice department believed it enough to grant him immunity and convict many of the New York familys. So it is case history. The thing our law is built on. The thing that is chilling about his description of meat packing Mafia is that it has a striking resemblence to the fight for Cool. Based in the time frame of 2000, the fact that our govt hasn't rounded up the Mafia in all the other cities where they reside yet makes one wonder if all the sins talked about by Sammy are still being perpetrated. In his book "Bound by Honor" Bill Bananno" tells how Johnny Rozelli was sent out to organize Unions and infiltrate them with their people just for the purpose of controling our govt. and protecting their "business interests." At this moment the FBI is attempting to rectify a century of criminal activity in Chicago that has left most of the city tainted including the Mayor. So go R-Calf. R-Calf and their supporters are the most effective force to ever confront the meatpackers and their unions. And this is because they have a broad base of support among producers to offset the support packers garnish from their Unions. Why should AMI shoot down a law that has already been writen and is embrased by the public. Who's running this country anyway? As for Canada I must add this. Canada has long been a safe haven for Organized Criminals that have worn out their welcome in the US. I don't think there has ever been an extradition to the US. I think mobsters have some kind of agreement with the government up there to protect them as long as they only pilfer the US. Kind of makes me wonder what's going on in the meatpacking industry up there.
 
So because one chicken supplier had mafia connections all packers are mafia controlled?

Quite the reach to say the least.

Large corporations might have a fair bit of control, but they also have many more eyes on them making sure they play by the rules.

Those that continually suggest criminal intent from all packers are those that do not understand the industry.

Case in point, many of the R-calf crowd are failed ag workers.

A couple have been successful, so maybe that means they have mafia connections sas well!
 
Jason, but...but...but...doesn't Canada have some sort of deal to hide all of the organized criminals from US authority?? :???: Conspiring minds want to know??
 
I need to comment on this subject. I can't give date or place due to confidential reasons but there was an instance where the USDA inspectors were threatened and things done to them from the very plants they were working at. It was brought to the attention of the USDA and the inspectors were told to back off and let the plants do their thing. Im not saying it was mafia but there is big muscle surrounding these plants. And it wasn't in regards to BSE because it wasn't a cattle slaughter facility. People might say I'm fear mongering but if everyone was honest with themselves they would admit there is much corruption in the world we live in.
 
Cedardell: "R-Calf and their supporters are the most effective force to ever confront the meatpackers and their unions. And this is because they have a broad base of support among producers to offset the support packers garnish from their Unions."

R-CALF and their followers are conspiracy driven. Facts are meaningless to them. That is why their fearless leader Callicrate lied under oath and perjured himself. That is why the Pickett plaintiffs themselves willingly entered into contractual arrangements with packers and testified that ibp had a legitimate business reason for using captive supplies but expected the judge to disregard that fact and rule in their favor.

As long as there is an R-CALF, lies will have a platform.



~SH~
 
Meat Tyson Foods
For a decade, conservative American circles buzzed with ugly rumours about the activities of the world's largest producer, processor and marketer of poultry and meats, Arkansas-based Tyson Foods. By the time Tyson was indicted in 2002 under the RICO (Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) statute, the actual citations would exceed the wildest speculation. In addition to charges that Tyson had systematically smuggled rock-bottom labour (in the form of illegal aliens) into the U.S. "to order" for 15 Tyson facilities throughout 9 states, the extent of the practice had effectively pauperized entire regions as el cheapo illegals elbowed aside American workers. The indictment charged that Tyson had conspired to aid and abet illegals in their quest for false documents. Disastrously, the company single-handedly upset the demographic balance of one rural area after another as newly documented illegals left below minimum wage Tyson jobs for better pay, thus opening new slots for the newly smuggled. The abysmal sanitary standards were the presumed source of waves of microbes, pathogens and e-coli outbreaks across the nation. Not surprisingly, Tyson is an outspoken cheerleader for irradiated food. A Tyson airplane pilot swore he had routinely dropped envelopes of cash off in Little Rock for then-Governor Clinton. Later, then-president Clinton's Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Espy, resigned in the face of 39 indictments that he had unlawfully accepted gifts and gratuities from Tyson in exchange for preferential treatment.

Now that you know a little something about Tyson family values, ask yourself where a company like that heads when it's on federal probation? Meet Lakeside Packers of Brooks Alberta. Parent company, Tyson Foods. Lakeside has accomplished the same old demographic switcheroo in Brooks, but Canada's loosey-goosey immigration law has made the illegal smuggling sideline an unnecessary business write off: "About one-fifth of the population of Brooks is comprised of recent African immigrants and refugees [mostly Sudanese], drawn to the town of 12,500 to work for Lakeside Packers [where] health officials are confronting rising rates of HIV infection. Many of those who test positive for the virus are so concerned about maintaining their anonymity that they do not want to go in person to the nearest HIV clinic, in Medicine Hat. Counsellor Bettie Christie ends up sending them bus tickets in the mail so they can seek treatment at a clinic in Calgary. ... One-third of her 22 clients at the HIV/AIDS Network of South Eastern Alberta are African immigrants. ... Ms. Christie would like more funding to hire translators and develop programs tailored to the cultural needs of newcomers." (Globe and Mail, October 2, 2004) Wow, how did they know Canadians were clamouring for HIV-positive slaughter house workers? And it didn't take long before we found a recall of "ground beef products produced at the Lakeside facility in Brooks, Alberta on March 01, 2001 because they may contain Escherichia coli 0157:H7 bacteria." (Canadian Food Inspection Agency, April 22, 2001)

An August 11 story in the Calgary Herald notes other complications: "40 mostly Sudanese employees lost their jobs when they protested the firing of at least three cleaners not directly employed by Lakeside ... working conditions and alleged racism at the plant. ... They say they can't find work and have been forced to live hand to mouth or are in danger of depleting savings to sponsor relatives to come to Canada. ... [According to Tyson, the workers were fired because they left their jobs 'even after being warned of the potential consequences.' Sure enough,] when the Lakeside employees applied for EI benefits to tide them over while they looked for work, almost all of them were denied ... because Lakeside's official reason for dismissal was misconduct. Seven of the first eight workers to appeal the employment insurance board's decision won their appeals." The benefits of a Tyson operation in Canada don't end there either. If you'll forgive a bad pun, Lakeside is accused of making a killing on the back of the mad cow crisis, "allowing mega-multinational packers to almost triple their profits with none of the rest of us any further ahead. With stateside slaughterhouses shut to us, two American-owned packers, Cargill at High River and Lakeside at Brooks, are really the only places the local cattle crowd can sell their live animals. The packers slaughter and then ship here and to the States where boxed beef under 30 months old can be sold. Buy low, sell high and we cover the casualties with our cash." (Calgary Sun, August 5, 2004)

But Tyson always seems to have an ace up its sleeve: Some farm groups "want major meat packers outlawed from owning cattle, a controversial practice many say helps packers manipulate prices. Proponents of the idea accuse the meat plants of using their cattle supply to control what they pay to ranchers, by slaughtering packer-owned animals when prices are high, and buying and killing rancher-owned cattle when prices dip again. ... Cattle ownership by meat processors also allowed dominant players Cargill and Lakeside to get about $45 million of the $400 million in Alberta mad cow compensation funds. ... In 2003, Alberta meat packers directly owned 13.4 per cent of all feedlot cattle, either on their own feedlots or on custom feedlots, according to industry analyst firm CanFax. In 2002, packer-owned fat cattle accounted for nearly 18 per cent of the provincial total." (Edmonton Journal, August 8, 2004) Given that the price of beef never has dropped, maybe Canadians should insist on paying that little more if we can be assured that it means a decent wage for Canadian workers processing Canadian beef in Canadian facilities.
 
Cattle Markets are Well Beyond the
Need for Another Study
Report By The Sierra Times
Published 07. 1. 02 at 21:26 Sierra Time

(Billings, MT) "U.S. cattle producers and feeders deserve immediate and decisive action from Congress to restore competition to U.S. Cattle markets," R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA) CEO Bill Bullard recently told cattle producers and feeders at meetings in Casper, Wyoming, Dodge City, Kansas, and San Antonio, Texas. "Our industry has been painstakingly studied by the Packers and Stockyards Administration and by university researchers, but the researchers lacked the authority to obtain all the relevant information, and so their results were inconclusive," he said.

Bullard said R-CALF USA and 26 other local and state cattle associations have called for an immediate U.S. Senate agriculture and judiciary committee investigation so information held by the packers and previously withheld from researchers on the grounds of confidentiality could be obtained under the subpoena powers of the U.S. Senate. "We need to get all the facts on the table, not just the information the packing and retailing sectors want researchers to consider," he said. He also said the recently released Sparks study commissioned by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) and the National Pork Producers Council provides a powerful argument against the need for any additional study and, instead, reveals the need for immediate action before the U.S. Cattle industry goes too far down the road of vertical integration.


According to Bullard, the Sparks study establishes why packers are determined to vertically integrate the packing industry through the use of captive supplies. Bullard quoted an excerpt from the Sparks study saying, "'Vertical integration often attracts investors because of the negative correlation between profit margins at the packing stage and the feeding stage.'" He told the audiences, "That means when live cattle prices increase, packer margins decrease, and it is through captive supplies that packers are able to 'manage' any increases in your live cattle prices to maximize their profit margins." Bullard further quoted Sparks, "'Packers use ownership of livestock to help control unit costs in a variety of ways. If this management tool is restricted, unit costs can be expected to increase (without increasing the value of the final product).'" He told the audience, "The Number 1 unit cost packers are controlling through captive supplies is your cattle price, and Sparks provides a clear admission that they are doing it. We don't need another study. Sparks provides ample evidence of how the packers are using captive supplies to maximize their profits by reducing their costs of cattle." Bullard encouraged all cattle producers to contact NCBA for a complete copy of the Sparks study. "It is a virtual tribute to the need for packers to vertically integrate the feeding industry into a noncompetitive subsidiary of the packers," he said.


Bullard said the cattle industry should aggressively pursue a two-pronged approach to restore competition to our cattle markets. He said the industry must continue pursuing a Senate investigation into the past and present operations of the U.S. Cattle market. "But even an immediate investigation will take some time," he said, adding, "The quickest way our industry can begin restoring competition would be for cattle producers and feeders to voluntarily agree to cease providing captive supply cattle to the packers." Bullard encourage cattle producers to strongly support both these courses of action. "The self-help strategy could provide some immediate change and the Senate investigation will enable us to identify and suggest permanent improvements to our cattle market structure," he said. In addition to pursuing this two-pronged approach, cattle producers should lend their support to the captive supply bill introduced by Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), and any efforts by U.S. House Members to include a ban on packer ownership in the House Agriculture Appropriations Bill.


Bullard also said the cattle industry needs to better explain how the economic interest of the packer is very different than that of the producer. He explained that producers are integral partners with beef packers because of a mutual desire to provide a high quality end product to consumers. He said, however, "We cannot and do not share the same economic interest within the live cattle market and we must strengthen our ability to maintain equal economic footing with our partners. We can only do this if we stand together as independent producers and feeders and assume full responsibility for our industry's market structure."
 
Hey Ranchhand,

Considering the fact that 75% of captive supply cattle are forward contract cattle, why did the Pickett plaintiffs willingly enter into forward contracts with packers if they knew that these cattle would be used to buy cattle cheaper later????

You still wonder why the verdict was tossed out on it's butt?


If you forward contract half of your feeder calves in July and sell the balance to the same buyer in Oct. for less money, should you be able to sue him for market manipulation since he bid less agressively with half of his needs already filled with your contract cattle?

That's how stupid this market manipulation conspiracy theory really is and precisely why Pickett vs. ibp was shot out of the sky.

The profitability information of ibp was subpenoed into court in Pickett and packer profitability information is available through GIPSA yet the packer blamer's witch hunt continues.

Why shouldn't the packers subpoena your financial records? Perhaps your business should be come their business as well.

These packer blaming attitude will be the downfall of this industry.

If you are so convinced packers are making so much money BUY A DAMN PACKING COMPANY and put your money where your mouth is. This is America for crying out loud. Don't always look to the federal goverment to solve your "PERCEIVED" problems.


~SH~
 
cedardell said:
The whole deal with Cool doesn't really make any difference whether it is good or bad for any segment of the industry. It was passed into law by our Nation's lawmakers. Then it was blackballed by special interests in Congress that were working for the packing industry. Sammy"the BUll" Gravano was a mafia captain in the Castelano family. In 1999 he was indicted on 19 murder charges. In order to get exonerated and go free on a witness protection program he testified against Cosa Nostra. In his testimony he went into great length to explain how Cosa Nostra used Unions to gain and keep control over market channels and protect their business interests. He devoted a whole chapter in his book describing how Purdue from Purdue chickens came to Paul Castellano in order to gain access to his retail chain. When Purdue failed to pay the required cut his whole world came crashing down when all his union employees went on strike and all his product was removed from the shelves. In his book Sammy also describesd how they controled Congressmen and Federal Judges. Now you can call this all bull, but the FBI and Justice department believed it enough to grant him immunity and convict many of the New York familys. So it is case history. The thing our law is built on. The thing that is chilling about his description of meat packing Mafia is that it has a striking resemblence to the fight for Cool. Based in the time frame of 2000, the fact that our govt hasn't rounded up the Mafia in all the other cities where they reside yet makes one wonder if all the sins talked about by Sammy are still being perpetrated. In his book "Bound by Honor" Bill Bananno" tells how Johnny Rozelli was sent out to organize Unions and infiltrate them with their people just for the purpose of controling our govt. and protecting their "business interests." At this moment the FBI is attempting to rectify a century of criminal activity in Chicago that has left most of the city tainted including the Mayor. So go R-Calf. R-Calf and their supporters are the most effective force to ever confront the meatpackers and their unions. And this is because they have a broad base of support among producers to offset the support packers garnish from their Unions. Why should AMI shoot down a law that has already been writen and is embrased by the public. Who's running this country anyway? As for Canada I must add this. Canada has long been a safe haven for Organized Criminals that have worn out their welcome in the US. I don't think there has ever been an extradition to the US. I think mobsters have some kind of agreement with the government up there to protect them as long as they only pilfer the US. Kind of makes me wonder what's going on in the meatpacking industry up there.
I am not sure why you felt you Must add that as all it does is further illustrate your lack of knowledge about Canada although it is probably on par for most Americans.
 
cedardell said:
The whole deal with Cool doesn't really make any difference whether it is good or bad for any segment of the industry. It was passed into law by our Nation's lawmakers. Then it was blackballed by special interests in Congress that were working for the packing industry. Sammy"the BUll" Gravano was a mafia captain in the Castelano family. In 1999 he was indicted on 19 murder charges. In order to get exonerated and go free on a witness protection program he testified against Cosa Nostra. In his testimony he went into great length to explain how Cosa Nostra used Unions to gain and keep control over market channels and protect their business interests. He devoted a whole chapter in his book describing how Purdue from Purdue chickens came to Paul Castellano in order to gain access to his retail chain. When Purdue failed to pay the required cut his whole world came crashing down when all his union employees went on strike and all his product was removed from the shelves. In his book Sammy also describesd how they controled Congressmen and Federal Judges. Now you can call this all bull, but the FBI and Justice department believed it enough to grant him immunity and convict many of the New York familys. So it is case history. The thing our law is built on. The thing that is chilling about his description of meat packing Mafia is that it has a striking resemblence to the fight for Cool. Based in the time frame of 2000, the fact that our govt hasn't rounded up the Mafia in all the other cities where they reside yet makes one wonder if all the sins talked about by Sammy are still being perpetrated. In his book "Bound by Honor" Bill Bananno" tells how Johnny Rozelli was sent out to organize Unions and infiltrate them with their people just for the purpose of controling our govt. and protecting their "business interests." At this moment the FBI is attempting to rectify a century of criminal activity in Chicago that has left most of the city tainted including the Mayor. So go R-Calf. R-Calf and their supporters are the most effective force to ever confront the meatpackers and their unions. And this is because they have a broad base of support among producers to offset the support packers garnish from their Unions. Why should AMI shoot down a law that has already been writen and is embrased by the public. Who's running this country anyway? As for Canada I must add this. Canada has long been a safe haven for Organized Criminals that have worn out their welcome in the US. I don't think there has ever been an extradition to the US. I think mobsters have some kind of agreement with the government up there to protect them as long as they only pilfer the US. Kind of makes me wonder what's going on in the meatpacking industry up there.

It appears in your haste to associate packers with the mafia you really misunderstood stood what Purdue did. I have copied the comments from above that vindicate Purdue. He did the right thing by not succumbing to their demands. I capitalized the key words which your evidently do not understand..... "He devoted a whole chapter in his book describing how Purdue from Purdue chickens came to Paul Castellano in order to gain access to his retail chain. When Purdue FAILED TO PAY the required cut his whole world came crashing down when all his union employees went on strike and all his product was removed from the shelves."

Your comments and conclusions referencing packers and unions is no less accurate than you conclusion regrading Purdue. Nothing more needs to be said regarding your skewed interpretation of events. No wonder you are an R-Calf member - alot of opinions about situations you know nothing about.
 
I got to thinking about the post on the Mexicans and aids in the packing plants. If they cut themselves while slicing meat, can you get aids from the meat? :???:
 
Cedardell,
Your references to the Mafia are about99% INACCURATE. YOU NEED TO GET YOUR CRIME FAMILIES STRAIGHT!!! :roll:
 
Sammy was Paul Castellano's "Capo." The reference he made in his book refered to Purdue coming to Paul. One thing no one can argue though is that old Joe Bannano was the head of the "Commission" and he ran it from exile in Canada. Their unwillingness to extradite points out the Canadian govts. un willingness to cooperate unless they want something. If they want open and free trade maybe they should gin up the mounties and catch some of these guys and send them back to us.
 
I am really glad so many of you have read "Sammy's"book. I think you are right and it's been awhile since I read it. However, it makes no difference whether he "failed to pay" or "refused "to pay, the testimony about how the Union retalliated against him is the same. And his disertation on how Unions are used to control market channels and eliminate competition are the key issues here.
 
The fact that he needed to pay at all is a key issue. Is this what a free and open market is all about?
 
The only solution for many in our state is to build our own packing plants. There are several producer owned ones going in around here. Only time will tell if they can compete or whether they get squeezed and bought out as is what usually happens.
 
Read Joe Bannano's autobiography. This points out exactly what's wrong with corporate America today. Every time I read about a new scandel or lost pension funds, Enron, Global Crossing, Dynigy, or the host of others, I think about this book. Even how he straightened out his wife's cheese plant and dominated the entire industry with it. Makes you think he invented the term "vertical integration." This buisness in so subtle that by the time you realize the damage done to US, they have gone international. I actually think this NAFTA business was dreamed up by "Old Joe" while he was in exile in Canada.
 
cedardell said:
I am really glad so many of you have read "Sammy's"book. I think you are right and it's been awhile since I read it. However, it makes no difference whether he "failed to pay" or "refused "to pay, the testimony about how the Union retalliated against him is the same. And his disertation on how Unions are used to control market channels and eliminate competition are the key issues here.

How do you implicate Purdue when it was the UNION that tried to put him under because he would not play their illegal game? It is well established that there have been strong mafia ties to unions which every packer would oppose if possible. It appears that you have assigned guilt to the wrong party.
 
cedardell said:
Read Joe Bannano's autobiography. This points out exactly what's wrong with corporate America today. Every time I read about a new scandel or lost pension funds, Enron, Global Crossing, Dynigy, or the host of others, I think about this book. Even how he straightened out his wife's cheese plant and dominated the entire industry with it. Makes you think he invented the term "vertical integration." This buisness in so subtle that by the time you realize the damage done to US, they have gone international. I actually think this NAFTA business was dreamed up by "Old Joe" while he was in exile in Canada.

How many corporations are not mentioned in his book? What would the ratio of good versus bad be when you looked at all of corporate America as opposed to those few who have operated outside the bounds of the law. I expect the ratio would be very similar to individuals as a group. There are alot more good than bad individuals and corporations but it is the bad corporations or individuals that garner the headlines.
 
Say agman you ole packer lover you,I didnt know that most of the cattle in Colorado was owned by R CALF members,maybe you oughta hang around a few of em see if some common sense will rub on you......good luck
 

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