‘The Fix Was In’: DOJ Takes on Chicken Insiders in Price-Fixing Trial
- Ten meat company insiders face U.S. conspiracy charges
- Conspiracy led to ‘chicken nirvana,’ government lawyer says
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
This article is for subscribers only.
“The fix was in.” That’s what the Justice Department charged against major players in the U.S. chicken industry as a hotly anticipated criminal antitrust trial got underway in Denver this week.
At the heart of the matter is whether the 10 defendants, which include two former chief executive officers, conspired together to keep prices elevated in the $95 billion U.S. market. In his opening remarks, DOJ lawyer Michael Koenig said the insiders, who worked for five competing chicken companies including top producer Tyson Foods Inc., came together to create “massive, historic price increases” and stonewalled efforts by customers including KFC Corp., Chick-fil-A Inc. to negotiate lower.