Faked Stafford meat tests snare 2nd culprit
A second person has been convicted of falsifying test results on ground beef at a Stafford meat packer, authorities say.
Debbie L. Smith, 60, of Ellington, pleaded guilty in Hartford federal court Monday to a charge tied to New England Meat Packing LLC’s (NEMP) falsification of a number of E. coli test results, the Connecticut U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Smith is free on bond, pending her Dec. 10 sentencing at which she could get up to five years in prison, authorities said.
As previously reported, investigators claim NEMP’s owner Memet “Matt” Bequiri, 32, of Tolland, and Smith, who was its quality-control officer, between Nov. 3, 2016 and Sept. 9, 2017 prepared and submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture 36 documents relating to 52 separate carcass swabs and ground beef samples on NEMP’s behalf.
The documents falsely claimed NEMP that all 52 samples tested negative for E. coli. In fact, none of the 52 carcass swabs and samples had been submitted or tested by the identified laboratory, or any other laboratory, investigators said.
Authorities previously said there have been no known instances of illnesses reported by anyone in Connecticut or other states who consumed NEMP’s meat.
In August, Bequiri pleaded guilty of faking E. coli tests and was freed on $25,000 bond pending his Nov. 12 sentencing, when he, too, faces up to five years in prison.
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