Farming Giant Raided in Hunt for Toxic Waste

Highway Patrol officers and FBI agents early Monday raided an Inland Empire farming operation--one of California’s largest agricultural corporations--seeking evidence that significant amounts of toxic materials had been buried beneath its fields.

Investigators said they have received information indicating that as many as 6,000 to 7,000 used five-gallon containers of fungicides, pesticides and herbicides may have been buried on property owned by the Agri-Empire Corp., which is said to be the nation’s largest family-owned potato producer. The company also owns thousands of head of cattle in California and other Western states.

That waste was buried in trenches on about 100 acres 10 miles from the company’s San Jacinto headquarters, and the land was then turned into a cattle feed yard, informants allegedly told investigators.

Those allegations are contained in an unreleased federal affidavit, and officials would only discuss them in general terms, saying it was too soon to accurately assess the charges. If the allegations are verified and containers there had leaked large quantities of hazardous wastes, some officials fear the company’s cattle feed yard could turn out to be one of the most contaminated agricultural sites in Southern California.

Larry Minor, a former drag-racing champion who is one of the owners of Agri-Empire, denied any wrongdoing and suggested the allegations may be coming from disgruntled employees.

“We’ve been in business here for 50 years,” Minor said, after being interviewed by the FBI. “Our employees have done everything by the book from Day 1.”

Scientists from the California Environmental Protection Agency, the California Department of Water Quality, the Riverside County Health Department and other agencies were on hand Monday to begin testing for the presence of dangerous chemicals. Of particular concern, officials said, are the condition of the water supply and the cattle that feed on the lot where the waste allegedly is buried.

They cautioned against overreaction, however, noting that the information supplied by the informants has not been verified. Even if the chemicals are in the ground, the officials said, they have not necessarily contaminated any of the cattle or the beef from those animals.

“We don’t want anybody to panic,” said officer John Marinez, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol’s border division.

By early afternoon, metal detectors had registered at least one instance of metal beneath the surface where the canisters had reportedly been buried.

Earth-moving equipment was being brought in to do the digging, which officials said would probably begin early today.

Cattle routinely are fed and watered on the plot of land, officials said. Agents would not say how long ago the chemicals were allegedly buried there.

According to a statement released by the task force investigating the dumping charges, metal and plastic canisters containing chemical residue were buried by Agri-Empire employees over a period of years. That would be a violation of the state’s Health and Safety Code as well as the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

There were no arrests made Monday, and investigators would not comment on whether any are likely to be made.

Officials would not say where the chemicals originated nor would they list the specific chemicals thought to be involved.

Teams of investigators, led by FBI agents, simultaneously burst into three sites owned by Agri-Empire early Monday. Stunned company officials faced about two dozen investigators at the corporate headquarters, while other agents served warrants at a potato shed and at the cattle yard.

Once the warrants were served, agents assigned to the feed pen were faced with an unfamiliar quandary: how to dig up an area to search for dangerous chemicals when hundreds of cows were milling about the property.

“I don’t know anything about cows,” one FBI agent said, gazing across the hot, dry field. “All I know is that they are here and they can’t be.”

Marinez conceded at an early afternoon press conference that officials had not yet developed a plan for dealing with the cattle.

At least for the time being, though, agents managed to clear the way for their search to begin by herding the cattle from one of the pens to another part of the yard.

Reporters and other observers were moved off the land while that search was carried out beneath a blazing afternoon sun.

While the cattle pen was the focus of most attention, agents at Agri-Empire’s San Jacinto headquarters were reviewing corporate records and interviewing employees. Wayne Minor, Larry Minor’s brother and a co-owner of the company, was at the ranch headquarters when investigators poured inside just after 8 a.m.

Although they would not discuss the results of the interviews, investigators said employees were polite and cooperative and that both Minors had discussed the allegations without a lawyer present.

Wayne Minor left the company headquarters without talking to reporters, but Larry Minor paused long enough to say that the allegations came as a shock to him. He added that a disgruntled employee a few months ago made unsubstantiated allegations about the company, but that they had been cleared up after company officials met with investigators.

Word of the allegations spread quickly through San Jacinto, a quiet town of 17,000 nestled at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains in Riverside County.

The Minors and their company are among the town’s longest-standing and best-known citizens.

Larry Minor had raced his own top fuel dragster from 1983 to 1988, winning several drag-racing titles. Even after he left driving, he continued to own a racing team that is still considered among the most successful in the National Hot Rod Assn.’s circuit.

Agri-Empire was founded by James Minor, who built the firm from scratch.

He rose to become a multimillionaire and his philanthropy and political connections made him one of San Jacinto’s most popular citizens. By the time he died in 1989, James Minor was known as the “potato baron.”

His sons, Larry and Wayne Minor, inherited the company from their father and now manage its far-flung holdings, which are said to include roughly 140,000 acres in California, Montana, Idaho and Oregon. In addition to potatoes, Agri-Empire owns thousands of head of cattle.

“They’ve been a very good company as far as the city is concerned,” said R. J. Stevens, who has lived in San Jacinto since 1954 and who served for 24 years on its City Council. “They employ a lot of people and they do good business.”

Some residents have long resented the Minors, Stevens added, but “that happens to anyone who’s got money, and they’ve got money.”

Mayor Francis Boykin said he does not know the Minors well but added that virtually everyone in the valley has heard of Agri-Empire. When the company opened a new potato shed last year, the event was well-attended by townspeople and local dignitaries, Boykin said.

Nevertheless, he and others voiced concern about the allegations of toxic dumping. In particular, Boykin said he wanted some assurance that the water table in the area had not been contaminated by any wastes.

“Of course, there will be some concern if any of this stuff is out there,” said Boykin. “For now, all we can do is wait and see what they turn up.”