Modesto man gets prison for almond theft

A Modesto man will serve more than 11 years in federal prison for his part in a conspiracy to steal almonds from Central Valley growers and processors.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence O'Neill also ordered that Ronald John Salado pay $2 million in restitution to victims and $2.5 million in forfeiture to the federal government.

Salado worked as a buyer for a Turlock nut processor. In February, jurors found the 59-year-old guilty of money laundering and multiple mail and bank fraud-related charges.

Prosecutors said Salado conspired with others to sell hundreds of thousands of pounds of nuts under fictitious names from 2000 to 2007.

Randal Burtis, Robert Adams and Jason Espinola also pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme. Burtis and Adams had management positions at processing plants.