Prosecutors Secure Plea Deal, Won’t Retry Ex-Blue Bell CEO

The former CEO of Blue Bell will not have to face another felony fraud trial over the deadly 2015 listeria outbreak linked to the company’s creameries after inking an agreement with the government Wednesday pleading guilty to a misdemeanor.

Prosecutors initially told the court after the August mistrial that they intended to take Kruse to trial again. Instead, Paul Kruse pled guilty to a misdemeanor under the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, for “introducing adulterated foods into interstate commerce,” and agreed to pay a $100,000 fine.