Vale Found Guilty in Criminal Contempt Case

BROOKLYN, N.Y.--A federal jury here convicted Jason Vale, president of the Queens, N.Y.-based company Christian Brothers Contracting Corp., on three counts of criminal contempt in violation of Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 401(3). He was found guilty of disregarding court injunctions to cease the sale, distribution, packaging, labeling and promotion of Laetrile, a natural product Vale and his company touted for preventing and curing cancer.

"This office will not tolerate any disregard for the lawful orders of this court," said Roslynn R. Mauskopf, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, in a news release from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). "Nor will it tolerate fraud, especially when it foists dangerous products on a vulnerable public."

The case against Vale began when the United States brought a civil suit against him and his company on April 20, 2000, at which time Judge John Gleeson entered a preliminary injunction ordering Vale and the company not to directly or indirectly sell, distribute, package, label or promote Laetrile. Evidence entered during the civil suit demonstrated that Laetrile--also known as amygdalin, "Vitamin B-17" or apricot pits--had no known effect on cancer and that it was, in fact, toxic because it was broken down into cyanide gas after ingestion. Gleeson ended the civil suit on Nov. 16, 2000, by making the preliminary injunction a permanent order.

In following up on the case, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York and the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations conducted an undercover investigation and learned Vale had set up a shell corporation in Arizona to continue Laetrile sales despite the court's injunctions. A search warrant executed at the defendant's house during the undercover investigation demonstrated after the preliminary injunction, the defendant had stored enough Laetrile in his basement to supply a single person for more than 242 years. The investigation further showed Vale continued to sell Laetrile through his home, where he used a toll-free number and a rented mailbox.

The jury announced the guilty verdict on July 21, 2003, following the conclusion of a week-long trial. Gleeson will conduct scheduling Oct. 24, 2003.

"FDA takes seriously its responsibility to protect patients from unproven products being peddled on the Internet by modern day snake oil salesmen such as the defendant in this case," said Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., FDA commissioner. "There is no scientific evidence that Laetrile offers anything but false hope to cancer patients."