Is It Friedman? SHF's Attorney Denies Friedman Bid On Agriprocessors, Won't ID Owners

Lack of transparency does not bode well for Postville, for Agriprocessors workers – or for the kosher food industry.

Company bids $8.5 million for Iowa slaughterhouse
By NIGEL DUARA

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A newly formed Iowa company bid $8.5 million for a struggling kosher slaughterhouse Monday that was involved in a massive immigration raid last year.
The sale is expected to be completed next week.

SHF Industries bid for the Agriprocessors plant in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Cedar Rapids. The bid includes the land, building and some equipment at the Postville plant.

Bankruptcy trustee Joe Sarachek said "moving parts" remain to be resolved in the sale process, but acknowledged that Monday's auction clears the way for the plant to finally be sold.

After the hearing, SHF attorney Anita L. Shodeen refused to identify the company's owners, and denied reports that Canadian plastics manufacturer Hershey Friedman is part of the ownership group.

"I don't know where that information about Mr. Friedman came from ... SHF Industries is a LLC with two members under Iowa law," Shodeen said. "I cannot identify them."

Iowa secretary of state's office spokesman Jarrett Schneider said limited liability companies are not required to list managers or members in their incorporation documents under Iowa law.

In late May, Sarachek identified Friedman as one of three men who owned SHF Industries. When reached by phone in late May, Friedman did not deny an interest in Agriprocessors and said at the time that he would "have something to say soon." He has since stopped returning calls seeking comment, including calls made Monday.

SHF Industries was formed May 6, according to documents from the Iowa secretary of state's office. The only party listed on incorporation documents, attorney Alexander P. Galyon, is a member of the same Des Moines law firm as Shodeen.

A telephone message left Monday for Galyon wasn't immediately returned.

Monday's hearing brings the sale closer to a conclusion after several failed attempts to sell the plant. A judge will decide July 15 whether to sign off on the deal.

The auction puts all the money Agriprocessors owed after declaring bankruptcy into one corporation. Since SHF Industries took on Agriprocessors' debt — at a significantly cheaper price — it would own the company if a bankruptcy judge agrees to the sale.

The auction was for a total of $21 million in credit owed to St. Louis-based First Bank and MLIC Asset Holding of New York City, which is affiliated with Metropolitan Life Insurance.

The pending sale also would include assets in New York and Florida; the assets in those states and Iowa have served as collateral for the two loans.

Sarachek has said the Agriprocessors assets in the sale are worth about $25 million.

Shodeen said she's confident the sale will be approved next week, though much of the equipment inside the plant is leased and wasn't purchased at Monday's auction.
"My client's goal is to continue to operate and expand the business in Postville," Shodeen said.

Immigration agents raided the Postville slaughterhouse in May 2008 and arrested 389 people, most from Mexico and Guatemala.

Another Agriprocessors asset, the Local Pride meatpacking plant in Gordon, Neb., is not a part of the sale and will be sold separately.

Hat Tip: FGBA.]

Comments

[sage]

It wouldn't suprise me if Aaron and Sholom Rubashkin are the secret owners.

I'm also sure that the vetting process needs to uncover the secret owners and the Iowa Federal AG and others have perfectly legal means to break the veil of secrecy.

[yidandahalf]

The RCF has been entirely too cocky, silent, and puffed up with their special form of Rubbishcan entitlement to not involved. They are the cockroaches in the woodwork.
Who will break any veil of secrecy? They are all frazzled with glee and the hope of getting a working slaughterhouse back on its feet. They all smell the money and are most likely unconcerned and too shortsighted to realize what looms ahead.

[ML]

Just because the identity of the owners is not public information doesn't mean that the courts and judge won't get to know who they are.

[harold]

... and arrested 389 people, most from Mexico and Guatemala ...

When for crying out loud are we going to secure our borders!

[AGRI-vated Angel]

Is there anyone, other than myself, who believes - THERE IS NO BUYER FOR THE FAILED FACILITY. IT HAS EVEN BEEN REPORTED - THEY HAVE SPLIT THE WORKFORCE INTO TWO DIFFERENT SHIFTS IN ORDER TO 'APPEAR' BUSIER THAN THEY REALLY ARE, AS AN APPEAL TO POTENTIAL BUYERS.

[Concerned for the Postville area..]

AGRI-vated Angel,
I hope this isn't the shining star that Postville residents have been waiting for the past year! I think it would be more like a falling star if this goes thru! If this happens we have done a 360 and are in the same mess we started with........How sad...........
Whom in there right mind would want to throw their money away on this hole in the ground, especially the way the economy is. Bad name, Bad products, Bad management, Bad histoty, Bad reputation, Bad credibility, Bad money, ect., ect.
This town will NEVER support this new venture, not after they have totally screwed over anyone they have had any business dealings with.

[AGRI-vated Angel]

Patience, CPA . . .

A farming community always looks out for themselves. We'll 'wash' away our problems slowly, but surely. (. . . much the same as the facility has been 'laundered'.)

[Concerned for the Postville area..]

AGRI-vated Angel,
Don't you think the only one getting rich off this whole mess is Joe Sarachek? Where else would anyone get $50 grand plus a week? In reality he probably doesn't want this hellhole sold, might as well milk the cow dry. Furthermore if the bank settled for only 8.5 million against a loan of 30 million it can't be much of bank. Not one in which I would want to do business with! Someone would have to make up the difference. I agree with you I think this is nothing but another lie, remember whom we are dealing with.........

[AGRI-vated Angel]

Are we that stupid?

How much $ $ $ $ $ has 'Joe' pocketed since 'assuming' the role as Trustee?

YL :)

Perhaps - it is time you compose a parody in re: of the greed produced by this seemingly endless 'ordeal'. I know . . . How about to the Abba tune - 'Money Money Money'?

[AGRI-vated Angel]

[It wouldn't suprise me if Aaron and Sholom Rubashkin are the secret owners.]

Sage -

. . . and it would be just like a close-knit farming community to say they support a continued effort to 'resurrect' the facility; however, it may not be their true intention either.

[Hometown Postville]

So where does the money to pay this Joe Sarachek come from? At 50 grand a week(does anyone have documentation to confirm this or has it been greatly exaggerated?) that money could have settled a lot of smaller claims!

[State of Postville III]

It would seem that the creditors would be careful, but they are vulnerable to a line insinuating if they deal with these owners more money owed could be forthcoming--NOT. It is hoped people have learned from being highjacked. It is a concern that even though there is extensive unemployment in the area more people will be brought in and what prison will they be brought in from. The housing situation is still a mess. Would Gabey be allowed to rent his alleged properties? Will the city forgive water bills? How will the residents be scapegoated some more??? Lots of questions to which we receive no answers.

[eye for an eye]

lets see, there are 52 weeks in a year. When a year is up, 52 times $50,000 equals 2.6 millions dollars. 3rd grade math. That would be just about 30% of what the plant would be sold for. (A little tougher math - he-he). A good retirement job, never the less!

[mosh p. utz]

i think if we should be calling someone a thief, it should be the trustee Joe Sarachek. all the suppliers and people that got screwed by rubaskin, should get their money before hungry thief joe gets his 50,000 gino a week. no wonder he didnt want it sold. phew to him. he should be embarrased. how do we get such people on this world !!
best of luck to danny boy and his group. maybe the people of postville will finally feel appreciated.

[sage]

There seems to be a 4-way conspiracy in progress, between the RCF, the OU, Saracheck and Hershey Freidman.

The goal: To see that Agri remains under the control of the RCF, with secret payoffs by the RCF to various parties, to keep this arrangement intact.

Big Losers: The City of Postville plus its Citizens and the Kosher Consumer of Agri Product, who will be eating non-Kosher meat, again.

[Pablo Faird]

Mosh P. Utz, is bang on. Let`s ask hungry Joe, where the money is.

[sage]

"Hungry Joe" is under the law of "Omerta".

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

I already posted links that suggest Daniel Hirsch works and/or lives in Brooklyn. Mitch Kirschner is another partner of SHF Industries that was mentioned by the receiver, Joseph Sarachek.

As a service to the construction industry, the New York City Department of Buildings publishes building permit information on the Internet. As you can see from this Microsoft Excel file:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/downloads/excel/per090807.xls
the Department of Buildings issued a permit to Favorite Plastics in Brooklyn. The General Contractor is listed as Mitch Kirschner. Often, a business will 'honcho' a job inhouse, dealing with various building trades using their own employees, rather than hiring a general contractor. So, the name of a company's employee gets slugged in as the General Contractor.

The lawyer said that Mr. Friedman had nothing to do with this bid. I am being told to believe that Daniel Hirsch and Mitch Kirschner, while sitting around drinking Mountain Dew and vodka and listening to recordings of 'Gloria' by Umberto Tozzi and 'Early Bird' by André Brasseur got the idea to buy a slaughterhouse in Iowa.

[sage]

Hi FGBA,

There's supposed to be a hearing by the Bankruptcy Court next week, pertaining to the sale of Agri.

The Court should get the definitive answers to the following questions:

1. Who is comming up with the $8.5 Mil?

2. Who, exactly, are the real owners of the new business.

These answers, of course, need to be backed up with notarized documents.

If the answers to these questions are acceptable to the Court, the Iowa Federal Prosecutor and AG, the Court Order permitting the sale should forbid any member of the RCF or their cronies, from working or having anything to do with the new plant.

[moshe p. utz]

sage ! are you aka joe sarachek. you seem to be defending all the wrong people !!! what buisness are you in. criticizing is easy, doing good is hard ! try to say something good about preople who are trying to help

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

Moshe, I don't think anyone ever checked to see if the bankruptcy court ever adjusted Sarachek's $50,000 a week fee. That fee includes the people working for Sarachek who are running the company. Its hard to figure out how much profit Sarachek is making on this job.

Remember that the firm is being sold as a going concern. As SOP III wrote above, the unsecured creditors getting stiffed may be approached by the new owners asking for credit terms better than "cash on the barrelhead", with offers of higher selling prices to compensate them for money owed by the old owners.

Frankly, I think it is fair game for trade creditors, etc. to find out, by hook or crook, who really is buying the company, so they can make credit and business decisions. There may be some rich people who are trying to help by buying the business, but if they don't know how to run the business, the company will wind up back in bankruptcy court. I doubt that these rich people have the means to run the company on a "cash on the barrelhead" basis.

A really, really skilled businessman should be able to run this company, regardless of what types of businesses he currently runs. He just has to know how to hire the right employees. But it makes one wonder why no one with known existing meat industry experience placed a serious bid for the company at the bankruptcy auction.

I don't think anyone has yet analyzed why Agri went bankrupt. Its not like Peanut Corporation of America, that had a food poisoning problem. Its not like they were caught with a lot of inventory they couldn't sell, like analog television sets.

Then, there are people who have read about some of the hijinks committed in bankruptcy reorganization cases, and don't want any bad guys to benefit.

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

Please also see this later story credited to the Cedar Rapids Gazette:
http://enews.ttnet.net/cgi-bin/enews.cgi?date=20090711&src=_t0710006.7ke&chap.html

Quoting Reporter Dave DeWitt:
"Shodeen said she has not indicated Friedman is not involved in the purchase as some media outlets reported, only that she does not speak for him."