SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A second defendant has pleaded guilty in a case alleging that a Northern California slaughterhouse at the center of a massive recall processed and distributed tainted beef.
Eugene Corda, an employee of Petaluma-based Rancho Feeding Corp., entered the plea to one count of aiding and abetting in the distribution of adulterated, misbranded and uninspected meat earlier this month.
A co-owner of the slaughterhouse, Robert Singleton, also pleaded guilty to the same charge in August. The two other defendants, co-owner Jesse Amaral Jr. and Felix Cabrera, are still facing charges. They have pleaded not guilty.
Federal prosecutors say the owners schemed with employees to slaughter about 79 cows with skin cancer of the eye.
The plant’s operations were halted in February after a series of beef recalls.
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