A driver for Chesterton IN-based Priority Refrigerated Service, who had been reported missing along with a $500,000 truckload of frozen beef, has been arrested and charged with theft.
According to the trucking company, Ralph Pritchett, 49, failed to make a meat delivery set for 1 am April 24 in Suffield CT. Officials with Priority called him, and Pritchett said he thought the delivery was to occur later that morning. The company then left him 20 messages over 24 hours, though he never arrived with the delivery.
Pritchett was arrested in Hartford CT, and the meat was delivered to its destination. Facing first-degree larceny charges, Pritchett is being held on $50,000 bond.
In other meat-related news, Lincoln NE police arrested David B Wiser, a loading dock supervisor at Universal Cold Storage, charging him with selling more than 27,000 pounds of meat stored at the firm.
According to police, Wiser began selling cases of the steaks (worth $400 wholesale) for $25 to independent truckers coming to Universal shortly after 571 cases arrived from Cargill.
Since Wiser’s duties included directing pallets onto trailers, his alleged actions didn't arouse suspicion. However, 16 pallets of ribeye steaks were discovered missing when Cargill asked the owner to return the shipment.
Police believe Wiser sold the ribeyes, valued at about $4.77 a pound, for a loss totaling $129,378.14.
