[.ca] Rats in the Grain: The Dirty Tricks and Trials of Archer ... (ISBN 1568582188)

From Amazon.com:
Archer Daniels Midland--popularly known as ADM, the "Supermarket to the World"--spends millions on ads during Sunday morning TV talk shows and on public radio to burnish its popular image. But behind the façade lies a vicious business eager to fix prices with its competitors and employ prostitutes in corporate espionage, according to James B. Lieber's muckraking account, Rats in the Grain. Lieber tells the story of why the FBI raided ADM's Illinois headquarters in 1995, as well as the events leading up to the raid and the trial that resulted. ADM was not an easy target--it's extremely well connected in Washington (an appendix listing politicians who have received financial contributions from ADM reads like a who's who of Beltway power brokers), and it was a leading recipient of federal largesse. In the end, ADM paid a criminal antitrust fine of $100 million, and two top executives were sent to prison for collaborating with competitors. But the case was messy. The FBI's informant, Mark Whitacre--once believed to be in line to succeed the company president--twice tried to commit suicide following the FBI raid, and was eventually sentenced to nine years for fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion. But Lieber tells the story of ADM's crisis well, and with a strong anti-ADM slant. He's no master of prose style, but his writing is clear and to the point. His book simply crackles with detail--at times, it's difficult to keep up with all the characters (there's another appendix identifying them for easy reference). Throughout the text, readers will feel as if they're in the middle of a 60 Minutes exposé of dirty business practices--a sense augmented by several pages of photos taken from hidden surveillance cameras spying on backroom deals. After reading Rats in the Grain, it will be impossible to look at one of those feel-good ADM ads the same way again. --John J. Miller

This story has been told:
I have not read this book, but it seems that the publisher's statement here at Amazon should include some mention of what this book can tell us that Kurt Eichenwald's exhaustive, prizewinning book, _The Informant_, does not. Eichenwald's book covers exactly the same material, and Eichenwald (the _New York Times_ reporter who covered the case) had the same access to Whitacre and other sources that Lieber had. For obvious reasons, I would prefer not to give a "number-of-stars" rating to a book I haven't read. But Amazon demands it, so I've chosen a neutral "three."

ORGANIZED CRIME IN THE HEARTLAND:
If you read one book this year, read "Rats in the Grain." Behind the facade of "ADM Supermarket to the World" a criminal element operated that would have made Al Capone envious. The author reveals how a criminal empire was built on political donations to elected and appointed officials of county, state and federal governments dating back fifty years. It was these connections that kept the chairman out of prison. ADM had the power to thwart FBI investigations, decide who should be indicted, and send the government witness to jail for ten years. They concocted a coverup with the help of devious lawyers from Washington DC. The government witness Mark Whitacre is a hero and also a casualty of a corrupt Justice Department. If it can happen to him it can happen to you. This is required reading!

Let The Truth Be Known To All:
Jim Liebert gets to the truth. Dwayne Andreas and others at ADM are not kind folks. Their ties with murderer/dictator Fidel Castro are real. Their contemptuous involvement with the illegal extraction of Elian Gonzalez from freedom and his subsequent delivery to slavery in Castro's communist prison is also very real. All in the name of appeasment to Castro. These people are stench and deserve to be imprisoned, if not worse. Thank you Mr. Liebert for telling the truth.

ADM, ... enterprise, punishes whistleblower:
Attorney Lieber deserves high praise for his objective, informative presentation of the antitrust criminal case vs. Archer Daniels Midland, the agribusiness giant, that ADM, its powerful lawyers and Clinton's Justice Department did not want published. To his credit, he continued to pursue this case after most reporters backed off and swallowed the dizzying spin and disinformation that ADM's CEO Dwayne Andreas and his aggressive lawyers gave the media, crying crocodile tears as the "victim" of an allegedly deranged ADM executive, Mark Whitacre, who became the FBI's mole, and made hundreds of tapes incriminating ADM executives fixing prices in world markets with their competitors. Lieber correctly smelled the stench of a cover-up and adroitly guides readers to make their own conclusions after compiling evidence, omissions from court records, and other factors that allow readers to infer that the judicial process was compromised by ADM's widespread political influence before the trial even began. Although Dwayne Andreas, the infamous political fixer and king of corporate welfare, got immunity in a highly secretive plea bargain to Justice in 1996, after ADM agreed to pay a record fine of $100 million, his son Michael was convicted and imprisoned with Terry Wilson for a mere 3 years, and Dwayne (thanks to outraged and courageous ADM shareholders) finally resigned. Tragically, Whitacre was convicted, fined and sentenced to a harsh term of 9 years because of ADM's swift retaliation against him as whistleblower, for exposing to the FBI the ... corporate culture of ADM...(anything goes-but don't get caught-and here's your big bonus (not reported on books)to keep silent, the unspoken words being that an employee would be fired and crucified if they blew the whistle. Lieber's chilling comment (p. 322)should concern every citizen or future whistleblower who believes in due process and our rule of law: "It was expected that ADM's attorneys would savage the snitch. What was highly bizarre in the world of criminal law was the way the Justice Department joined in the frenzy to destroy Whitacre. This was an aberration...the perpetrator was a politically wired corporation whose law firm- the president's law firm- had unbridled entree and influence at Justice. The mole's lawyer had none." Lieber makes a strong case that this American corporate history- "one of the most important antitrust cases of the century"- should be closely examined. Rightly so. Why was the court record sealed, why were key witnesses (e.g., Wayne Brasser) not deposed, who could have validated Whitacre's claims that the hidden bonuses were a quid pro quo for engaging in illegal price-fixing? The author's appendices are very helpful. ADM and Dwayne Andreas not only have lobbied for years to emasculate our antitrust laws (the "Magna Carta" of free enterprise) but know that the massive soft money donations to key politicians can grease not only the wheels of justice, but also ensure that ADM continues to get huge subsidies for ethanol and other favors from Agriculture Dept. (high fructose corn syrup,peanuts) that have cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Rats in the Grain is highly recommended, and was a difficult book to write because of the case's complexity. James Lieber should be considered for a Pulitzer Prize.

A Tale of Two Conspiracies:
Rats in the Grain is a tale of corporate criminals from Asia, Europe, and the U.S. whose price fixing conspiracy was finally exposed by a government witness working undercover for the FBI for over two and half years. The FBI tapes and documents sow ADM was involved in fixing prices, technology theft, prostitution, systematic campaign voilations and the transfer of corporate funds without the proper signatures to senior executives' overseas bank accounts to avoid taxes. ADM paid a $100 million fine and was allowed to keep the USDA business worth $85 million, which was unprecededented for a corporation who pled guilty to a criminal felony. THe second conspiracy involved ADM, the Department of Justice and ADM's lawyers working together with the media to paint a picture of Mark Whitacre, the government witness, as the real criminal. Whitacre who worked undercover for the FBI was also receiving illegal bonuses. Records show ADM was aware of this, yet the government and ADM claimed that no one except those around Whitacre were involved. The FBI agents with whom Whitacre worked while recording the crimes at ADM turned their backs on him. All the departments of government in place to administer justice for the people were administering the wishes of ADM's chairman Dwayne Andreas. ADM and the Andreases have spent millions in donations over the years. Adding that to the millions spent on lawyers clearly showed that justice was for sale. Part IV of the book the cover-up is a real eye-opener. It tells of people who sold their souls aiding and abetting in the obstruction of justice which included sending the government witness to jail at the request of ADM. Lieber's book serves notice that all is not well in the heartland and conditions are even worse in Washington.