Man pleads guilty in pet food case

ST. LOUIS—A Texas man has admitted involvement in a scheme where poultry feathers, feet and other items were passed off to pet food manufacturers, distributors and brokers as higher-quality ingredients.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Henry R. Rychlik pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in St. Louis to two misdemeanor charges of adulteration or misbranding of food. He could face up to a year in jail.

The guilty plea is the latest of several in the investigation. Suburban St. Louis-based Diversified Ingredients has agreed to pay more than $1.5 million in restitution. Its co-owner, Collin McAtee, is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty in May.

Gregory McKinney of Texas pleaded guilty in May for supplying mislabeled ingredients.

Wilbur-Ellis Feed LLC of California pleaded guilty in April to a misdemeanor adulteration charge.