Feds arrest former California food company owner in alleged tomato price-fixing plot

Food exec arrested in alleged price-fixing scheme

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Federal agents have arrested the former owner of a California food company charged in an alleged price-fixing plot that prosecutors say involved buyers for some of the nation’s biggest food companies.

FBI agents arrested 54-year-old Frederick Salyer Thursday at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport.

His attorney, Malcolm Segal, did not immediately return calls.

Salyer has been wanted since being charged in January in federal court in Sacramento with 20 counts of mail and wire fraud.

The complaint alleges Salyer fled the country in October, transferring millions of dollars overseas.

Prosecutors say he directed a 10-year scheme that involved bribing purchasing managers to buy tomato products from his company, Monterey-based SK Foods.

Buyers from Kraft Foods Inc., Frito-Lay Inc., and Safeway Inc. have pleaded guilty to accepting bribes.