Vale Found Guilty in Criminal Contempt Case 36268

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 ContractingCorp., 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 ceasethe sale, distribution, packaging, labeling and promotion of Laetrile, a naturalproduct Vale and his company touted for preventing and curing cancer.

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

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

In following up on the case, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the EasternDistrict of New York and the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations conducted anundercover investigation and learned Vale had set up a shell corporation inArizona to continue Laetrile sales despite the court's injunctions. A searchwarrant executed at the defendant's house during the undercover investigationdemonstrated after the preliminary injunction, the defendant had stored enoughLaetrile in his basement to supply a single person for more than 242 years. Theinvestigation 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 theconclusion of a week-long trial. Gleeson will conduct scheduling Oct. 24, 2003.

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