Opinion ID: 184858
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: The Payments to Mr. Lomoriello

Text: 25 From December 1992 through February 1993, a period during which Mr. Lomoriello was responsible for buying tomatoes on behalf of American Banana, JSG issued seven checks to Mr. Lomoriello, totaling approximately $10,000. According to Mr. Goodman and Mr. Lomoriello, the payments were for various services Mr. Lomoriello rendered to JSG. American Banana's vice-president, Demetrius Contos, testified that he was aware that Mr. Lomoriello used his own truck during the evenings for his own business unrelated to American Banana. The ALJ, however, found that the payments were bribes, and cited evidence in JSG's records suggesting that Mr. Lomoriello was getting paid a certain amount for each box of tomatoes that JSG sold to American Banana. 26 After describing these seven payments, the ALJ interpreted prior agency precedent as dictating that JSG could only make ... payments [to the Gentiles and Mr. Lomoriello] with its customers' [i.e., L&P's and American Banana's] permission. ALJ Decision at 18, reprinted in J.A. 33. The ALJ concluded that [e]ven if it received permission, JSG should not have made more than de minimis payments to Mr. Gentile and Mr. Lomoriello. These payments were more than de minimis. Therefore, these payments constituted commercial bribery, in violation of section 2(4) of the PACA. Id. The ALJ found that the PACA violations were wilful, flagrant, and repeated, and ordered JSG's PACA license revoked. Id. at 46, reprinted in J.A. 61. 27 JSG and the Gentiles (but not Mr. Lomoriello) appealed the ALJ's decision to the Judicial Officer, to whom the Secretary has delegated authority as the final deciding officer in the agency's adjudicatory process. See 7 C.F.R. §§ 1.132, 2.35 (1998). On March 2, 1998, the Judicial Officer adopted, with minor and insignificant changes, the ALJ's factual and legal conclusions. See In re JSG Trading Corp., PACA Docket Nos. D-94-0508, D-94-0526 (May 2, 1998), at 8 (Judicial Officer Decision), reprinted in J.A. 70. JSG filed a petition for reconsideration with the Judicial Officer, which was denied on June 1, 1998. See In re JSG Trading Corp., PACA Docket Nos. D-94-0508, D-94-0526 (June 1, 1998), at 25 (Reconsideration Order), reprinted in J.A. 182. On July 30, 1998, the Judicial Officer issued a stay of the order revoking JSG's license pending judicial review. JSG, alone, then petitioned this court for review of the Judicial Officer's final determination.