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| '''Sholom Rubashkin''' is the former CEO of the ] ] slaughterhouse in ]. Rubashkin took over from his father ], who founded the plant in 1987. Sholom resigned shortly after federal agents raided Agriprocessors in May 2008. The raid resulted in the arrests and deportations of about 270 mostly Guatemalan undocumented workers. ''(See main article ]).'' | '''Sholom Rubashkin''' is the former CEO of the ] ] slaughterhouse in ]. Rubashkin took over from his father ], who founded the plant in 1987. Sholom resigned shortly after federal agents raided Agriprocessors in May 2008. The raid resulted in the arrests and deportations of about 270 mostly Guatemalan undocumented workers. ''(See main article ]).'' | ||
| ---- | |||
| ''' THE FACTS OF THE CASE:''' | |||
| '''1. Prosecutors singled out Agriprocessors – the largest kosher meat production company in the United States – and authorized a raid by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in May 2008 that was unnecessary, unwise, and singularly destructive. | |||
| 2. Prosecutors chose against treating Agriprocessors like other meatpacking companies – such as Swift & Company or Tyson’s – who employed even more illegal immigrants than Agriprocessors but whom the government allowed to negotiate resolutions to the immigration issues without conducting a raid. | |||
| 3.Prosecutors summarily rejected Agriprocessor’s attorney’s oral and written requests to resolve the matter through cooperative efforts and instead authorized a raid by 600 federal agents, supported by military helicopters that did enormous physical damage to the Agriprocessors plant and ultimately drove the business into bankruptcy. | |||
| 4.The raid demolished the economic infrastructure of the Town of Postville, wiped out livelihoods of both legal and illegal workers, and forced Postville’s legitimate businesses to shut down. | |||
| 5.Sholom Rubashkin was arrested suddenly – in an effort to garner maximum national publicity – even though his lawyers were in constant communication with federal prosecutors and knew he would surrender if notified of formal charges. | |||
| 6.Prosecutors unjustifiably demanded extraordinarily severe bail conditions and ultimately requested that he be denied bail altogether. No other employer in the country whose premises were raided by ICE in the 2006-2008 period was treated with comparable severity or was imprisoned prior to trial or prior to sentencing. | |||
| 7. Rubashkin was imprisoned for 76 days before his trial on the basis of an outrageous and false argument that asserted that any Jew in the United States could flee to Israel and, under its “Law of Return,” avoid justice in the United States. And he has been kept in prison after the jury verdict in his case even though he was meticulous in observing the conditions of his eventual release before trial. | |||
| 8. Prosecutors even opposed a modest request that Rubashkin be permitted to go home under 24-hour guard to observe the Passover seders with his family. | |||
| 9.Prosecutors were not content to charge Rubashkin with the offense of violating the immigration laws and bank fraud. In order to aggravate the appearance of his offense for publicity purposes, they returned seven successive indictments, constantly increasing the number of counts until the total was 163. No other employer who was the subject of an ICE immigration raid between 2006 and 2008 had seven superseding indictments returned against him with ever-increasing numbers of criminal counts. | |||
| 10. Prosecutors scraped the bottom of the barrel artificially to increase the number of counts against Rubashkin. They found and alleged violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 based on the fact that Agriprocessors was, on occasion, a few days late in paying cattle dealers. No one has ever been charged with a criminal offense under this law or any other law for making late payments. | |||
| 11.Prosecutors presented highly prejudicial evidence to the jury at Rubashkin’s bank-fraud trial suggesting he was involved in harboring illegal immigrants, and they successfully objected to the admission of evidence he presented refuting his guilt of such charges. After the jury verdict, prosecutors dismissed 72 counts of immigration-law charges. | |||
| 12.Prosecutors have officially recommended life in prison for Rubashkin, even though Rubashkin is a non-violent first-time offender who made timely interest payments to the lender bank until his plant was raided and who did not intend to cause any loss to the bank. All the immigration charges against Rubashkin were dropped. Other employers raided by ICE from 2006-2008 were either not criminally prosecuted at all, were given probation or received a prison term of one year and a day. The most serious offender received a 10-year sentence. | |||
| 13.If the judge agrees to prosecutors’ sentencing request, or more likely, sentences Rubashkin to 20 or more years in prison, it will be longer than the average sentence meted out in the United States for violent offenses, including homicide, robbery, sexual abuse, drug trafficking, and offenses involving national security and defense. | |||
| 14.Rubashkin is being treated more harshly than defendants in similar cases, such as Mark Turkcan, the president of First Bank Mortgage of St. Louis, who misapplied $35 million in loans, resulting in a loss of approximately $25 million. Turkcan was recently sentenced by a federal judge in Missouri to one year and one day in prison. | |||
| 15. Prosecutors and the U.S. Probation Office have calculated the total offense committed by Rubashkin at level 45 under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, but the federal Sentencing Table caps at level 43. An offense level of 43 is punished with a life sentence under the sentencing guidelines. | |||
| 16.Under the sentencing guidelines, the length of a sentence is determined in part by either the "intended" loss amount or the "actual" loss amount – whichever is greater -- as of the day of sentencing. Even though Rubashkin never intended there to be any loss (so the "intended" loss is zero), because there is an alleged "actual" loss of $27 million, that is the figure that is being used for sentencing. And that figure under the sentencing guidelines amounts to a life sentence. | |||
| 17.Despite the fact that Rubashkin never intended any loss and the "actual" loss was due to circumstances beyond Rubashkin’s control, and despite the fact that the case began as an immigration case (where the sentencing guideline levels are low), Rubashkin is now facing the possibility of life in prison. | |||
| 18.Rubashkin’s attorneys have asked the court to impose a sentence no greater than 72 months, noting his positive history and character, his extraordinary family circumstances, and the arbitrary nature of the now-advisory guidelines used by prosecutors. They emphasize that Rubashkin’s conduct was not done for personal gain, that he did not intend any loss to the bank, and that a 72-month sentence would allow the Bureau of Prisons to place Rubashkin in a facility with experience in effectively and humanely incarcerating observant Jewish inmates | |||
| SHOLOM RUBASHKIN DESERVES “EQUAL AND FAIR ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE UNDER THE LAW.” | |||
| All those contacting offices of the Department of Justice are advised to act cordial and respectful at all times.''' | |||
| ==Child Labor violations== | ==Child Labor violations== | ||
| On September 9, 2008, Rubashkin, along with his father, Agriprocessors and two other managers were each charged with more than 9,000 violations of child labor laws.<ref></ref> |
On September 9, 2008, Rubashkin, along with his father, Agriprocessors and two other managers were each charged with more than 9,000 violations of child labor laws.<ref></ref> | ||
| ==Arrests== | ==Arrests== | ||
Revision as of 20:45, 27 April 2010
Sholom Rubashkin is the former CEO of the Glatt kosher Agriprocessors slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa. Rubashkin took over from his father Aaron Rubashkin, who founded the plant in 1987. Sholom resigned shortly after federal agents raided Agriprocessors in May 2008. The raid resulted in the arrests and deportations of about 270 mostly Guatemalan undocumented workers. (See main article Postville Raid).
THE FACTS OF THE CASE:
1. Prosecutors singled out Agriprocessors – the largest kosher meat production company in the United States – and authorized a raid by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in May 2008 that was unnecessary, unwise, and singularly destructive.
2. Prosecutors chose against treating Agriprocessors like other meatpacking companies – such as Swift & Company or Tyson’s – who employed even more illegal immigrants than Agriprocessors but whom the government allowed to negotiate resolutions to the immigration issues without conducting a raid.
3.Prosecutors summarily rejected Agriprocessor’s attorney’s oral and written requests to resolve the matter through cooperative efforts and instead authorized a raid by 600 federal agents, supported by military helicopters that did enormous physical damage to the Agriprocessors plant and ultimately drove the business into bankruptcy.
4.The raid demolished the economic infrastructure of the Town of Postville, wiped out livelihoods of both legal and illegal workers, and forced Postville’s legitimate businesses to shut down.
5.Sholom Rubashkin was arrested suddenly – in an effort to garner maximum national publicity – even though his lawyers were in constant communication with federal prosecutors and knew he would surrender if notified of formal charges.
6.Prosecutors unjustifiably demanded extraordinarily severe bail conditions and ultimately requested that he be denied bail altogether. No other employer in the country whose premises were raided by ICE in the 2006-2008 period was treated with comparable severity or was imprisoned prior to trial or prior to sentencing.
7. Rubashkin was imprisoned for 76 days before his trial on the basis of an outrageous and false argument that asserted that any Jew in the United States could flee to Israel and, under its “Law of Return,” avoid justice in the United States. And he has been kept in prison after the jury verdict in his case even though he was meticulous in observing the conditions of his eventual release before trial.
8. Prosecutors even opposed a modest request that Rubashkin be permitted to go home under 24-hour guard to observe the Passover seders with his family.
9.Prosecutors were not content to charge Rubashkin with the offense of violating the immigration laws and bank fraud. In order to aggravate the appearance of his offense for publicity purposes, they returned seven successive indictments, constantly increasing the number of counts until the total was 163. No other employer who was the subject of an ICE immigration raid between 2006 and 2008 had seven superseding indictments returned against him with ever-increasing numbers of criminal counts.
10. Prosecutors scraped the bottom of the barrel artificially to increase the number of counts against Rubashkin. They found and alleged violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 based on the fact that Agriprocessors was, on occasion, a few days late in paying cattle dealers. No one has ever been charged with a criminal offense under this law or any other law for making late payments.
11.Prosecutors presented highly prejudicial evidence to the jury at Rubashkin’s bank-fraud trial suggesting he was involved in harboring illegal immigrants, and they successfully objected to the admission of evidence he presented refuting his guilt of such charges. After the jury verdict, prosecutors dismissed 72 counts of immigration-law charges.
12.Prosecutors have officially recommended life in prison for Rubashkin, even though Rubashkin is a non-violent first-time offender who made timely interest payments to the lender bank until his plant was raided and who did not intend to cause any loss to the bank. All the immigration charges against Rubashkin were dropped. Other employers raided by ICE from 2006-2008 were either not criminally prosecuted at all, were given probation or received a prison term of one year and a day. The most serious offender received a 10-year sentence.
13.If the judge agrees to prosecutors’ sentencing request, or more likely, sentences Rubashkin to 20 or more years in prison, it will be longer than the average sentence meted out in the United States for violent offenses, including homicide, robbery, sexual abuse, drug trafficking, and offenses involving national security and defense.
14.Rubashkin is being treated more harshly than defendants in similar cases, such as Mark Turkcan, the president of First Bank Mortgage of St. Louis, who misapplied $35 million in loans, resulting in a loss of approximately $25 million. Turkcan was recently sentenced by a federal judge in Missouri to one year and one day in prison.
15. Prosecutors and the U.S. Probation Office have calculated the total offense committed by Rubashkin at level 45 under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, but the federal Sentencing Table caps at level 43. An offense level of 43 is punished with a life sentence under the sentencing guidelines.
16.Under the sentencing guidelines, the length of a sentence is determined in part by either the "intended" loss amount or the "actual" loss amount – whichever is greater -- as of the day of sentencing. Even though Rubashkin never intended there to be any loss (so the "intended" loss is zero), because there is an alleged "actual" loss of $27 million, that is the figure that is being used for sentencing. And that figure under the sentencing guidelines amounts to a life sentence.
17.Despite the fact that Rubashkin never intended any loss and the "actual" loss was due to circumstances beyond Rubashkin’s control, and despite the fact that the case began as an immigration case (where the sentencing guideline levels are low), Rubashkin is now facing the possibility of life in prison.
18.Rubashkin’s attorneys have asked the court to impose a sentence no greater than 72 months, noting his positive history and character, his extraordinary family circumstances, and the arbitrary nature of the now-advisory guidelines used by prosecutors. They emphasize that Rubashkin’s conduct was not done for personal gain, that he did not intend any loss to the bank, and that a 72-month sentence would allow the Bureau of Prisons to place Rubashkin in a facility with experience in effectively and humanely incarcerating observant Jewish inmates
SHOLOM RUBASHKIN DESERVES “EQUAL AND FAIR ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE UNDER THE LAW.”
All those contacting offices of the Department of Justice are advised to act cordial and respectful at all times.
Child Labor violations
On September 9, 2008, Rubashkin, along with his father, Agriprocessors and two other managers were each charged with more than 9,000 violations of child labor laws.
Arrests
On October 30, 2008 Rubashkin was arrested on federal conspiracy charges of harboring illegal immigrants and aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft. The same day, after making an initial court appearance, he was released on the following conditions: He must wear an ankle bracelet that tracks his movement, limit his travel to northern Iowa, surrender his passport and his wife's passport and provide a $1 million appearance bond.
Rubashkin was arrested again on November 13, 2008 at his Postville home on Federal charges of bank fraud. These new charges were due to the fact that under his direction millions of dollars that were supposed to be deposited in an account as collateral for a loan were fraudulently diverted to another account, and were used to fraudulently increase the value of Agriprocessors accounts receivable. After the money was diverted Rubashkin ordered the records of these transactions removed from company computers. Rubashkin now faces up to 30 years in prison on these new charges.
On January 27, 2009 Judge Linda Reade released Rubashkin on $500,000 bond. Rubashkin was ordered to surrender all passports and birth certificates, and agree to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet. He is not allowed to leave Allamakee County, nor allowed on any of Agriprocessors’ property and is barred from contacting a list of people related to the case. Defense attorneys successfully argued that Rubashkin is not a flight risk and has strong ties to the community despite prosecutors' fears that he would flee to Israel due to his Jewish heritage citing the Israeli ‘Law of Return’ policy, which grants expedited citizenship. "About a dozen rabbis from New York and across the country" were opposed to his being considered a flight risk. Federal agents said that they searched Rubashkin's bedroom, they found "20-thousand dollars in cash and silver coins packed along with passports".
Trials
Rubashkin was convicted in November 2009 on 86 charges of financial fraud, including bank fraud, mail and wire fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors had claimed the company intentionally defrauded St. Louis-based First Bank on a revolving $35 million loan by faking invoices from meat dealers, inflating the value of the company.
On Novermber 23, 2009 Rubashkin's second trial on 72 immigration charges was canceled following the government's request to dismiss. In its motion to dismiss, the U.S. Attorneys Office said any conviction on the immigration charges would have no impact upon his sentence, writing, "dismissal will avoid an extended and expensive trial, conserve limited resources, and lessen the inconvenience to witnesses." Federal Judge Linda R. Reade dismissed the immigration charges without prejudice.
On March 3, 2010 Judge Reade denied Rubashkin's motion for dismissal of the financial corruption charges and a request for a new trial.
Rubashkin's sentencing hearing will take place on April 29 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Prosecutors are asking for a 21 to 27 year sentence, while the defense is asking for no more than six years.
See also
References
- CNN.com - Slaughterhouse charged with using child labor, September 9, 2008
- Lydersen, Kari (October 31, 2008). "Former CEO of Iowa Kosher Meatpacking Plant Is Arrested". Washington Post.
- Franzman, David (2008-11-14). "Agriprocessors Former Plant Manager Arrested Again". KCRG. Cedar Rapids Television Company. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
- Curtis, Pat (2009-01-27). "Former Agriprocessors executive expected to get out of jail Thursday". Radio Iowa.
- Wiedemann, Katie (2009-01-27). "Rabbis Speak out for Sholom Rubashkin". KCRG-TV News.
- "Slaughterhouse Manager Convicted in Fraud Case", New York Times, 13 November 2009
- "CHARGES DISMISSED: Judge dismisses 72 immigration charges against former Agriprocessors CEO". AP. 2009-10-23.
- http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2010/03/04/judge-denies-ex-agriprocessors-exec-a-new-trial/tab/article/
- "RUBASHKIN SENTENCING: The lawyers for the former Agriprocessors CEO convicted on fraud charges are asking for a light sentence". Chicago Tribune. April 12, 2010.
Further reading
- Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America, Stephen G. Bloom. Harcourt. ISBN 0156013363
- Is A Life Sentence for Iowa Kosher Butcher Disproportionate Justice? (By Edwin Black)