No restitution for toxic peanut victims, federal judge declares

A peanut company executive serving a 28-year sentence will not have to pay restitution to victims for his part in a salmonella outbreak that killed 3 Minnesotans in 2008 and 2009.

Stewart Parnell, former Peanut Corporation of America owner, his brother Michael Parnell and two other defendants will not be forced to give money to corporate customers or victim's families after a federal judge declared Wednesday that cost estimates put forward by prosecutors were invalid.

Hundreds of families and victims fell ill after eating peanut butter that had not been properly treated at PCA's plant in Georgia. Nine people died in the resulting salmonella outbreak.

Investigators found e-mails that suggested shipments of improperly treated peanuts were knowingly sent out because Parnell did not want to lose customers.

Parnell was sentenced last September to serve 28 years in prison, the harshest sentence ever doled out for a U.S. food producer for a food-borne illness case.

U.S. District Court Judge W. Louis Sands ruled the estimated costs invalid because they came from civil claims and included costs not recoverable in a criminal case.

Jeff Almer from Savage lost his 72-year-old mother, Shirley Mae Almer, to the outbreak after she had eaten tainted peanut butter on toast. He gave a statement before a federal court in September. Almer also spoke before Congress and helped push for a tougher food safety law which passed through Congress in 2011.

"At the end of the day these guys are going to bed in a prison cell and that's the important thing," he said.

He said they had hoped to use the restitution to replace money already spent on medical costs that were incurred after his mother had eaten the peanuts.

A federal judge ruled in 2010 that the victims and their families, including Almer, would split a $12 million settlement. This ruling does not affect those civil decisions.

Fred Pritzker, who represented the Almer family and other victims, said the various cases should have gotten higher payouts, but lack of funds from a bankrupt PCA led to the $12 million settlement.

Pritzker said the decision to prevent restitution payments could have stemmed from the massive costs already put on to the defendants from legal fees and other costs.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.