According to court papers 68-year-old Timothy Peppel of Mansfield was allegedly padding his USDA salary by more than a thousand dollars a week by taking bribes.
The site Glassdoor says a USDA produce inspector can make between $50,000 and $75,000 a year. Federal prosecutors say Pepple did much better.
The indictment says a company called the Agricultural Marketing Service handed over bribes estimated at $1,000 - $1,500 per week so that Pepple would lower the quality of the food he inspected.
The indictment says Pepple would downgrade the quality of AMS's produce and write it into official USDA inspection reports so AMS could negotiate lower prices with farmers.
Pepple now faces charges of conspiracy to commit fraud, wire fraud, and receiving bribes by a public official.
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