Raley's Companies CFO, Chief Pilot Killed in Plane Crash

The Raley’s Companies CFO Kenneth Mueller, and the company’s chief pilot, Richard Conte, were both killed Sunday in a plane crash in Sacramento County, Calif.

First covered by Store Brands’ sister publication Progressive Grocer, Raley’s spokeswoman Chelsea Minor confirmed to The Sacramento Bee newspaper that both men were aboard the plane, but said they weren’t on company business at the time of the crash. Family-run The Raley's Companies operates 230-plus locations across four states and four Tribal Nations under eight banners: Raley’s, Bel Air, Nob Hill Foods, Raley’s O-N-E Market, Bashas’, Food City, AJ’s Fine Foods and Bashas’ Diné Market.

“Our organization is deeply saddened and heartbroken,” the company said in a statement. “At this time, we are focused on supporting their families, friends and our colleagues.”

Mueller, 56, and Conte, 68, were the only passengers on the plane when it went crashed just before 9 a.m. PT in a marshy area of farmland near Galt, Calif. The plane had taken off from Tracy Municipal Airport, northwest of Modesto, Calif. The crash will be investigated by The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Mueller had worked at Raley’s for more than 25 years, most recently in the role of SVP and CFO. Conte had been the company’s chief pilot for eight years and was also employed by Sacramento law firm Dreyer Babich Buccola Wood Campora LLP.