Lawyer suggests tuna pricing trial witness ‘just making stuff up’

SAN FRANCISCO -- An attorney representing Christopher Lischewski challenged Monday a former Bumble Bee Foods LLC marketing executive's characterization of his one-time boss' alleged role in directing a price-fixing conspiracy across three major packaged seafood companies.

Kenneth Worsham only offered secondhand and unsubstantiated accounts of Lischewski leading the scheme, argued Elliot Peters, who questioned whether the co-conspirator turned government witness was "just making stuff up" to underplay his part in the misconduct.

Lischewski resigned as CEO of Bumble Bee in 2018 and is accused of masterminding the plot that included StarKist Co. and Chicken of the Sea. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted in a trial before U.S. District Judge Edward Chen. Bumble Bee pleaded guilty to price-fixing in May 2017 and paid a $25 million fine. Two of the company's executives, Worsham and Walter Scott Cameron, agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors and testify for potential leniency.

Worsham admitted during testimony he illicitly coordinated canned tuna price points with Starkist executives Charles Handford and Stephen Hodge .

Robert Worsham, Kenneth's father who worked for Starkist as a senior executive, was a co-conspirator to the price-fixing scheme by connecting his son with Hodge and relaying information between the two companies, according to Peters.

Robert Worsham died last December.

The Keker Van Nest & Peters partner argued Kenneth Worsham diminished his contribution to the conspiracy.

Asked whether Robert Worsham was a source of inside information at Starkist during the contentious cross-examination, Kenneth Worsham said his father was keenly interested in the tuna industry and the two discussed pricing information "on a limited basis."

"He had no hobbies," Wosham said of his father. "His entire career had been tuna. Probably half of our conversations on a personal basis would still be about tuna."

Kenneth Worsham conceded his father was a middleman in passing information to Hodge but denied considering him a part of the conspiracy. He said he was "merely a conduit of information."

Peters said Kenneth Worsham needed a middleman because he was communicating "incriminating" information he didn't find appropriate to include in emails.

Following up on testimony last week, in which Kenneth Worsham recounted relaying information he learned from a discussion with Hodge to Lischewski the day after it happened, the defense presented to the jury a calendar disproving the witness' timeline. Peters further questioned whether the information was improper since it was already public.

Kenneth Worsham maintained he's "not making stuff up," explaining the events occurred over seven years ago. He added the intelligence learned from his discussion with Hodge was "hot" because it confirmed verbal agreements to coordinate price points.

The three companies colluded to fix canned tuna prices from 2010 to 2013. Lischewski led the conspiracy, according to the antitrust division of the Department of Justice's indictment. U.S. v. Lischewski, 18-CR0203 (N.D. Cal., filed May 16, 2018).

On direct examination, federal prosecutors showed a 2012 email from Lischewski to former Chicken of the Sea CEO Shue Wing Chan, in which he is complaining about the company's promotional activity on certain products. Worsham said Lischewski is communicating to Chan that it is "irresponsible" to sell below cost.

When Department of Justice Attorney Leslie Wulff asked whether Lischewski had expectations about how he was supposed to interact with competitors, Worsham responded he was "specifically told to have contacts with pricing authority at our competition."

"Chris' view of the industry was contacting and sharing information and making agreements whenever possible," he said.

Worsham is expected to complete his testimony on Tuesday.