Day 067 - 15 Dec 94 - Page 60
1 MR. JUSTICE BELL: He said "McDonald's records".
2
3 MR. MORRIS: So is it a fact then that Coope Montecillos keeps
4 records for much longer than that time?
5 A. Our suppliers, yes?
6
7 Q. Yes, in this case Coope Montecillos keeps its records much
8 longer than -----
9 A. We do not tell our suppliers how long or how to manage
10 their business. It is entirely up to them. We have no
11 control over that.
12
13 Q. In other words, what I am saying is the records that you
14 have seen do go back before you joined the company. You
15 have seen records going back further than that?
16 A. Yes, I have seen some of those.
17
18 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Why not just ask how far back they were and
19 see if he can remember..
20
21 MR. MORRIS: How far back have you seen them to be able to say
22 with confidence they never exported?
23 A. Probably 10 years, and Ray Cesca will bring those
24 records. You also have to understand, we do not destroy
25 all our documents. We do not purge them. There are some
26 critical records that we do keep. This just happened to be
27 one somebody else before me decided to keep them. We will
28 probably keep -- I have not destroyed and I will not some
29 of the records that I have circulated that I have in my
30 possession for more than three years.
31
32 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am sorry, I may have got a bit confused.
33 I thought that the records you were talking about seeing
34 were Coope Montecillos records which you saw in Costa Rica?
35 A. That is correct. That is part of it, yes.
36
37 Q. Your evidence is that you looked at their records and there
38 were no records of exported beef to McDonald's in the US or
39 for McDonald's in the US, is that what you are saying or
40 not?
41 A. That is correct, yes.
42
43 Q. What are the McDonald's records you are saying now someone,
44 in fact, kept beyond the normal three year period which you
45 have looked, at what kind of records are those?
46 A. There was signed letters from our suppliers indicating
47 that they have not exported products, and they have
48 specifically mentioned to the US, from their facilities to
49 any of our suppliers. That is what they indicated.
50
51 Q. How far did they go back?
52 A. I do not know how far they go back, but I have seen
53 documents that are around 10 years old.
54
55 MR. MORRIS: I mean, was that one letter 10 years ago or was it
56 a whole file?
57 A. No, I said, the question was how far, so I said up to
58 10 years I have -----
59
60 Q. All I am saying is did you just see one letter or did you
