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It was December 10, 1989, when Florence “Jerri” Beardslee, one of a small number of women who owned wholesale distributorships for Anhauser-Busch, found out her business was on fire. During the same time period, Beardslee was locked in a legal battle with the beer company over the termination of its business relationship with her. Part of the civil case involved contentions by Beardslee that Anhauser-Busch was harassing her. The fire supported that theory.
An October 1996 jury trial, however, resulted in a guilty verdict against Beardslee. The charge was arson; two co-defendants pleaded guilty and testified that Beardslee had hired them to burn down the warehouse. While the lady still proclaims her innocence and has stated she’ll appeal, she could be sentenced to a theoretical maximum penalty of 110 years in prison, a $5.2 million fine and restitution of $260,000 to repay the insurance companies that covered the warehouse.
© Copyright 1996 Alikim Media