The North Carolina Department of Labor Fined Imperial Food Products $808,150

The North Carolina Department of Labor found that Imperial food products violated 83 OSHA standards including 54 willful violations and 23 serious violations contributing to the magnitude of the disaster. On March 10th 1992 a grand jury indicted Emmett Rose, Brad Rowe and James Hare, Imperial's plant manager and hamlet on 25 counts of involuntary manslaughter. Some in the community couldn't help but feel that race played a factor. Hamlet fire chief David Fuller denied rumors that Imperial had paid off the fire department in the form of chicken tenders to turn a blind eye towards the company's numerous safety hazards.