Kosher Slaughterhouse Manager Found Guilty

Manager in Long-Standing Postville, Iowa Case Guilty on 86 of 91 Fraud Charges; Hundreds Were Arrested in May, 2008 Raid

(AP)  A federal jury Thursday convicted the former manager of an Iowa kosher slaughterhouse, which was the site of a massive immigration raid, on 86 of 91 financial fraud charges.

Jurors returned the verdict against Sholom Rubashkin, 50, on its second day of deliberations after the nearly monthlong trial. He faces a sentence that could add up to hundreds of years in prison - as well as a second federal trial on 72 immigration charges.

"We respect the jury's hard work. It was a difficult case. We disagree with the verdict," defense attorney Guy Cook said after the decision. "There were many legal errors made by the prosecution in the trial of this case and following sentencing we will appeal."

Prosecutors offered no immediate comment.

Prosecutors had alleged that as a manager of the former Agriprocessors, Inc., plant in Postville, Iowa, Rubashkin intentionally deceived the company's lender.

Former Agriprocessors employees testified that Rubashkin personally directed them to create fake invoices in order to show St. Louis-based First Bank that the plant had more money flowing in than it really did.

Cook argued Rubashkin never read the loan agreement with First Bank and tried to portray Rubashkin as a bumbling businessman in over his head.

During closing arguments, U.S. Attorney Peter Deegan said Rubashkin was aware of the fraud at the plant and to assume otherwise was "ridiculous." Cook said Rubashkin may have practiced business unethically, but never committed a crime.

Over the protests of Rubashkin's defense team, U.S. District Court Judge Linda Reade also allowed former employees to testify that days before the immigration raid, Rubashkin scrambled to get new documents for his workers, at least 389 of whom were found to be illegal immigrants.

The plant filed for bankruptcy months after the raid and has since been sold. Prosecutors claim evidence of the massive fraud scheme was uncovered during an investigation by a court-appointed trustee.

Rubashkin's attorneys won a change of venue earlier this year, when the trial was moved from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Sioux Falls.

[jeff-fla]

What I want to know is this. It is a meat packing plant. They have FDA inspectors on hand at all times. FDA they work for and are paid by the Government. How can you have government employees on the job and have illegal workers there to?

[dcjonklin]

>How can you have government employees on the job and have illegal workers there to?

FDA checks the meat, not the employees.

[OregonJames]

The food processing industry is still using large numbers of illegal immigrants. I retired recently from a company that claims ignorance about the number of illegals they hire, but they know and make every effort to hide that fact. When there was a rumor of an immigration raid hundreds of illegals simply ran off the job one day, fleeing like cockroaches from the light, yet they were all allowed to return the next day when they found there was no raid.

There are still far too many loopholes that allow employers to hire illegals, and far too few prosecutions. Our laws are still being ignored.

[observer2020]

Being that you recently retired from the company...why not turn them in? If you KNOW they are doing something illegal and you do nothing, you are just as guilty as the people that "hired" them. Afraid of losing your retirement benefits? Not good enough reason.

[babooph]

So the bunch of central Am. guys knew how to butcher Kosher !The fools who paid extra,thinking they were getting meat handled according to Kosher standards also should gripe!

[armyoftwelve]

Apparently, making a slaughterhouse "kosher" only has to do with how animals are treated and not the PEOPLE who work there.

This whole episode is really quite shameful.

[koko98-2009]

You are quite right. A true meaning of Kosher is how people are treated and this case was truely a sin.