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*[[Stephen G. Bloom]]: ''[[Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America]]''. Harcourt, New York 2000 ISBN 0156013363
*[[Stephen G. Bloom]]: ''[[Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America]]''. Harcourt, New York 2000 ISBN 0156013363
*[[Edwin Black]]: [http://www.thecuttingedgenews.com/index.php?article=12123 Is A Life Sentence for Iowa Kosher Butcher Disproportionate Justice?] The Cutting Edge, April 19, 2010
*[[Edwin Black]]: [http://www.thecuttingedgenews.com/index.php?article=12123 Is A Life Sentence for Iowa Kosher Butcher Disproportionate Justice?] The Cutting Edge, April 19, 2010
Edwin Black http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGbNZ6nTgko



{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubashkin, Sholom}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubashkin, Sholom}}

Revision as of 08:30, 25 June 2010

Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin (b. 1959) was convicted of bank fraud for his actions while CEO of Agriprocessors, a now-bankrupt slaughterhouse and meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa.

During his directorship of the plant from 1987 to 2008, Agriprocessors grew into the largest kosher meat producer in the United States. During the same period, Agriprocessors was cited for issues involving animal treatment, food safety, child labor, and environmental safety.

In November 2009, Rubashkin was convicted of 86 counts of financial fraud, including bank fraud, mail and wire fraud and money laundering. In June 2010, Rubashkin was sentenced to 27 years in prison. A state trial charging him with 83 counts of knowingly hiring underage workers ended in an acquittal.

Biography

Sholom Rubashkin is the second-youngest son of Aaron Rubashkin, a Lubavitcher Hasidic butcher from Brooklyn, born in Nevel, Russia, and his wife Rivkah. Like his parents, Sholom is a devout Lubavitcher Hasid.

In 1981, Rubashkin married Leah Goldman and spent a year learning in kollel. Around the time of their marriage, he received rabbinical ordination.[1] Afterwards he worked in his father's butcher shop, until he and his wife were sent to Atlanta, Georgia as Shluchim in the Chabad-Lubavitch outreach program.[2] The couple then moved to Minnesota, from which Sholom commuted to his father's new meat-packing plant in Postville for approximately three years; they relocated to Postville in 1993.[1] The couple has ten children.[3]

CEO of Agriprocessors

In 1987 Aaron Rubashkin opened the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa and made his son Sholom its CEO. During his tenure as CEO, Agriprocessors became the United State's largest kosher slaughterhouse and meat packing plant and the only one authorized by Israel's Orthodox rabbinate to export beef to Israel.[4] According to statistics that Rubashkin gave to Cattle Buyers Weekly, Agriprocessors sales increased from $80 million in 1997 to $180 million in 2002. In 2002 Agriprocessors was ranked as one of the 30 biggest beef-packing plants in America. The Rubashkins brought modern industrial methods to the kosher-meat-production and made (glatt) kosher meat available both in supermarket chains and in small, local grocery stores and meat markets across the United States.[5]

Under Rubashkin's leadership, Agriprocessors was cited for issues involving animal treatment,[6] food safety,[7] environmental safety,[8] child labor,[9] and hiring of other illegal workers.

Sholom Rubashkin resigned from his post in September 2008. Agriprocessors plants stopped operating in October 2008. On November 5, 2008 the firm filed for bankruptcy,

Raid and arrests

Main article: Postville Raid

On May 12, 2008, the FBI raided the plant and arrested 389 workers that lacked documentation.[3] At that time, it was the largest raid into a workplace in the US.[3]

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. [10]

Rubashkin was arrested again on November 13, 2008, at his Postville home on federal charges of bank fraud. The charges claimed 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 faced up to 30 years in prison on these new charges.[11]

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 was not allowed to leave Allamakee County, nor was allowed on any of Agriprocessors’ property and was barred from contacting a list of people related to the case.[12] Defense attorneys successfully argued that Rubashkin was not a flight risk and had strong ties to the community, despite prosecutors' fears that he would flee to Israel, which grants expedited citizenship under its Law of Return. Upon searching Rubashkin's house, federal agents found $20,000 in cash and silver coins packed along with passports in his bedroom.[13]

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.[14]

On November 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."[15] 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.[16]

Rubashkin's sentencing hearing took place on April 28–29 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Prosecutors asked Judge Reade to impose a life sentence. After that request came under fire from former Justice Department officials,[17] Assistant U.S. Attorney Pete Deegan said in court that the government would seek 25 years, while the defense asked for no more than six years.[18]

On June 22, 2010, Judge Reade handed down a sentence of 27 years, two years more than prosecutors had requested.[19] According to a 52-page memorandum which she released the day before sentencing, the judge imposed a 324-month prison term followed by 5 years of supervised release, and ordered Rubashkin to pay $18.5 million to First Bank Business Capital, the plant’s largest lender; $8.3 million to MB Financial Bank, another lender; and $3,800 to Waverly Sales, Inc., which received late payments from the plant for cattle.[20]

Separate from the federal trials, Rubashkin and his associates went on trial on the child labor charges in state court in Waterloo, Iowa starting May 4, 2010.[21] Charges against Agriprocessors corporate officer Aaron Rubashkin and plant human resources employee Laura Althouse were dismissed, and the number of charges in the indictment was amended to 83 from 9,311.[22] He was acquitted of all charges on June 7, 2010.[23]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Testimony Ends in Sholom Rubashkin Trial". yeshivaworldnews. 2010-06-01. Retrieved 2010-06-24.
  2. ^ "Sholom Rubashkin: Community Patron Deals With Adversity". Hamodia. 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c Brian Ross (April 26, 2010). "Kosher Meat Plant Owner Wages Behind-the-Scenes Campaign to Limit Jail Time". ABC News. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  4. ^ Alan Cooperman (December 31, 2004). "USDA Investigating Kosher Meat Plant". Washington Post. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  5. ^ Nathaniel Popper (December 11, 2008). "How the Rubashkins Changed the Way Jews Eat in America". Jewish Daily Forward. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
  6. ^ Donald G. McNeil Jr. (March 10, 2006). "Inquiry Finds Lax Federal Inspections at Kosher Meat Plant". New York Times. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  7. ^ Noncompliance Records Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Retrieved June 21, 2010
  8. ^ AgriProcessors Inc. Wastewater Settlement LawyersandSettlements.com. Retrieved June 21, 2010
  9. ^ Preston, Julia (2010-06-07). "Former Manager of Iowa Slaughterhouse Is Acquitted of Labor Charges". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-06-23.
  10. ^ Kari Lydersen (October 31, 2008). "Former CEO of Iowa Kosher Meatpacking Plant Is Arrested". Washington Post. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  11. ^ David Franzman (November 14, 2008). "Agriprocessors Former Plant Manager Arrested Again". KCRG. Cedar Rapids Television Company. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  12. ^ Pat Curtis (January 27, 2009). "Former Agriprocessors executive expected to get out of jail Thursday". Radio Iowa. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  13. ^ Katie Wiedemann (January 27, 2009). "Rabbis Speak out for Sholom Rubashkin". KCRG-TV News. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  14. ^ "Slaughterhouse Manager Convicted in Fraud Case". New York Times. November 13, 2009. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  15. ^ "Charges Dismissed: Judge dismisses 72 immigration charges against former Agriprocessors CEO". AP. Octobre 23, 2009. Retrieved June 21, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ Jacqueline Palank (March 4, 2010). "Judge denies Motion for New Trial". The Wall Street Journal Blogs. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  17. ^ Julia Preston (April 29, 2010). "Life Sentence Is Debated for Meat Plant Ex-Chief". New York Times. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  18. ^ Nigel Duara, AP (May 3, 2010). "Feds Back Off From Life Sentence for Slaughterhouse Fraud Case. In dispute, the amount of money lost by First Bank Business Capital is key because it could affect Rubashkin's sentence". Law.com. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  19. ^ Preston, Julia (2010-06-21). "27-Year Sentence for Plant Manager". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-06-23.
  20. ^ "Sholom Rubashkin to receive 27-year prison sentence". Des Moines Register. june 21, 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ AP (January 7, 2010). "May trial scheduled for Rubashkin". Dubuque Herald. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  22. ^ Jeff Reinitz (May 4, 2010). "Child labor case won't be delayed". WCF Courier. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  23. ^ Jeff Reinitz (June 8, 2010). "Jury foreman explains Rubashkin verdict". WCF Courier. Retrieved June 21, 2010.

Further reading

Edwin Black http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGbNZ6nTgko

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