Clergy: Government Wrong For Dropping Rubashkin Immigration Charges

We will "investigate and pursue all constructive options and legal recourse." Rubashkin "exploited and mistreated" undocumented workers "so extensively."

Clergy say workers needed to air case
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Decorah, Ia. - Three Decorah clergy members who have been involved in the interfaith response in Postville since the May 2008 immigration raid at Agriprocessors Inc. released a statement over the weekend reacting to the dismissal of all immigration charges against former manager Sholom Rubashkin.

The Rev. Carol Kress, the Rev. David Vasquez and the Rev. Michael Blevins said they wished to express "heart-felt shock and disappointment that the workers, who for over a year have been prevented by the government from returning home, will not have the long-awaited opportunity to tell their story and seek justice through the trial on immigration charges of Sholom Rubashkin who exploited and mistreated them and their families so extensively."

The three members of the Decorah Area Faith Coalition said they will "investigate and pursue all constructive options and legal recourse to seek restorative justice for our friends."

Prosecutors said the charges against Rubashkin were dismissed Thursday because it would have no impact on his eventual sentence. Rubashkin was found guilty Nov. 12 of 86 of 91 counts of business fraud. He is awaiting sentencing.

Comments

[sage]

If it's legal, I feel that either civil or criminal charges should be pressed against SMR and AR for monetary damages, on behalf of the immigrant workers, who were abused like slaves in Aggriprocessors.

The dropped trial does not do this.

It's almost common knowledge, how the immigrants were treated. If the dropped trial was held, what would come to light is, effectively, what many already know, and there would be no monetary compensation.

[Hometown Postville]

I agree Sage. And if because of their illegal status, civil or criminal charges would not apply, then these people who have sacrificed so much should spill every detail to the press- write a book, do a documentary, do a movie. Something that can generate money for them and their families who have waited to be together for so long. If their case is dropped due to the irrelevence of sentencing, then their status should be changed to that of a working American! May G-d bless and further the efforts of the Decorah Area Faith Coalition!

[A E ANDERSON]

I'm upset too.... To me, the immigration charges against Rubashkin were the very essence of what has been on issue for the past year, plus. Those charges alone put the govt and its methods on trial as well. Now, no jury will be able to, in effect, say, "bugger this, the feds overreached and we'll therefore acquit."

By inundating Rubashkin with newly created and unrelated charges, the "frauds," the feds from the very beginning not only stacked their deck, but ended up throwing out the essence (and raison d'etre) of their efforts in this matter.

The feds may have won, and Rubashkin has certainly lost. But so has the public. And I think this is always a danger when prosecutors, hell bent on winning rather than justice, proceed under these weighty, "Christmas tree" indictments, under which the central issue gets lost amid the weight and number of marginally related or unrelated technical charges.

[sage]

Notwithstanding the immigration issues, the "Fraud Trial" was necessary, as a valid means to try to put SMR in a Big House for life.

[effie]

These were criminal trials - not civil ones. The purpose was not to generate income for the exworkers.

I am aware that some states have laws that illegal aliens can not receive some damages when they sue civilly. However, a victim's immigration status is irrelevant to whether a prosecutor files charges or a jury convicts.

[effie]

The feds may have won, and Rubashkin has certainly lost. But so has the public.

Nope.

[sage]

If SMR serves a life sentence for his crimes, the public, as Effie says, has not lost.

An evil person will have been removed from the midst of society.

"You shall eradicate evil from your midst." - Torah Commandment

[Shmarya]

By inundating Rubashkin with newly created and unrelated charges, the "frauds," the feds from the very beginning not only stacked their deck, but ended up throwing out the essence (and raison d'etre) of their efforts in this matter.

How much are you paid by Chabad? I've asked you before buut you haven't answered.

Past hat, the laws Rubashkin broke have been on the books for many years, and your grasp of the move to drop the immigration charges is, shall we say, not in consonance with reality.

And then we have this from you earlier last night on a post about a pedophile:

What a bunch of freakin' wusses... In life, sh-t happens. Get over it and stop whinging and whining!

Do we have to hear, ad nauseam, every detail about every schmoe who had they pecker played with by [fill in the blank] since the beginning of freakin' time?!

Get a life already!

YOu're a sick man.

You blame victims, be they victims of pedophile or victims of Rubashkin.

You have no moral compass.

You're simply disgusting.

[Ahava]

The fraud trial was ridiculous. The bank had no problem with Rubashkin as long as he paid his bills on time.
If the government were really honest, they would worry more about the mistreatment of workers than "fraud" against a bank who didn't have a care in the world until the payments stopped coming.
It's all a load of BS.
And you idiots continuing to rant on about it should be worried about your own business dealings. Get a life !

[effie]

If SMR serves a life sentence, it would be an injustice. My guess is that he will be sentenced to around 12 years, more or less.

[effie]

Ahaya: You'll be happy to know that the mistreatment of workers will be addressed in the state trial.

As to the fraud charges, I've been skimming the mortgagefraud blog and reading about how many people are convicted of bank, mail, and wire fraud. Rubashkin is being treated like everyone else. I'm sure that is what has you so upset. Well, tough.

[AGRI-vated Angel]

I agree with the clergy. Man-made laws never supercede G_d's expectations.

[OMG]

Sage, I agree that it seems unfair that witness were kept in limbo for over a year and at the end they don’t see justice done, but DOJ has made the right decision, there are zero benefit to proceed with the second trial, the DOJ calculated that SMR will get enough prison time that he might not come out even again, in regard to civil court no lawyer would take this case on contingency there is no money left by SMR, what I am really wondering why they are not going against the owner of the Agri that would be the father he still has some assets.

[effie]

As far as I can tell, the charges related to the second trial had to do with harboring illegal aliens for profit, etc. There were no pending federal charges for abuse, exploitation, or mistreatment.

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

Maybe they are waiting for the next elderly Rabbi roundup in Brooklyn.

[Successful Messiah]

It seems to me that Kress, Vasquez and Blevins are complete morons. The illegal immigrants are just as guilty of immigration fraud as Rubashkin is. They don't have any basis to "seek justice" from Rubashkin on immigration charges. If the state were to drop the labor charges against SMR then a statement of this kind would make sense. But with respect to the immigration charges it is so completely devoid of any logic as to make me wonder whether their statement is driven by motives other than the desire to pursue justice.

[WoolSilkCotton]

Wrong, Successful Messiah.

You do not have the right to screw, cheat, and commit crimes against an illegal alien. You can indeed be prosecuted for doing so. Are you allowed to rob the house or possessions of an illegal alien? Assault him or her? The law clearly says no.
In fact, a doctor can be sued for malpractice by an illegal alien who comes to him or her for treatment.

If they're here illegally, let the government prosecute them. However, in the government's pursuit, they will discover just how and why they got here, and those arrows point to our beloved Sholom Mordecai...

Isn't there some talmudic saying about stopping thievery? "If you want to stop thievery, then arrest those who receive and profit from the stolen goods..."
If you want to stop illegal aliens, then stop those who recruit, import and hire them.

[Dr. Moe]

Is Michael Blevins the Neo Nazi guy? or is he related the Neo Nazi Guy Michal Blevns? See the ADL and other related news on Michael Blevins the Neo Nazi:

http://www.adl.org/learn/extremism_in_the_news/Other_Extremism/extremism_trends.htm?Multi_page_sections=sHeading_2

"He was soon joined by other NSM leaders, including Michael Blevins, who had been the NSM's director of information, and Justin Boyer, once the leader of the NSM's Seattle chapter, and now the ANSWP leader in Ohio. The ANSWP claims to have 12 chapters across the country, although its membership remains small. In addition to running his own Internet radio show, Blevins has formed his own group, American National Unity, which mostly operates as an on-line racist forum."

Florida officials discovered a few interesting things when they inspected a Sarasota-area day care center. They discovered that the site's operator, Michael Herbert Blevins, is a neo-Nazi leader. Blevins believes non-whites should be exterminated.

The day care center is run out of Blevins and his wife Bernadette Blevin's home. Bernadette has run it for ten years with no problems or citations. She has only been married to the man who calls himself "Von Bluvens" for a year.

Neo-Nazi Runs a Day Care

http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=46516

"Since people have a constitutional right to free speech and the center has no health or safety issues, county officials have no reason to shut down the day care. Michael Blevins also completed a 3 hour course in child care at a local YMCA."

The DA did not pursue Sholom Rubashkin on Immigration charges cause they had NO CASE.

[sage]

+++ I am really wondering why they are not going against the owner of the Agri that would be the father he still has some assets.

Posted by: OMG | November 23, 2009 at 09:40 AM +++

Papa Aaron is on the indictment list in the Iowa Child Labor Law Trial.

There may be Iowa and Federal Labor Law indictments issued.

And if RICO charges are pursued, all RCF assets may be up for grabs.

So it's far from over.

[state of disgust]

SM said:

"The illegal immigrants are just as guilty of immigration fraud as Rubashkin is."

What are they guilty of? Being victims of false advertising? Rubashkin advertised in foreign press for workers to come to Postville. Are they guilty of being enticed to come to Postville for indentured servitude? Amara extorted money form workers in exchange for jobs. Do you think workers voluntarily agreed to have illegal deductions taken from their paychecks?
The mental gymnastics you go through to convince yourself that Rubashkin is a victim,that all the workers came to Postville because SMR is a tzaddik, and that the whole meat industry works this way, is simply astoundingly ignorant, ridiculous and stupid.
You need to say tehillim ... not for SMR but for yourself.

[effie]

The DA did not pursue Sholom Rubashkin on Immigration charges cause they had NO CASE.
Posted by: Dr. Moe

The DA does not have jurisdiction over immigration matters. If you are referring to the AG, of course they had a case. But, they dismissed the charges because under the sentencing guidelines, the sentence would still be the same as they stated in their motion to dismiss. Pretending otherwise, does not make it so.

[Dr. Moe]

"they dismissed the charges because under the sentencing guidelines, the sentence would still be the same as they stated in their motion to dismiss."

They could say what ever they want to say.
If you'll go to any central American Village where people who were employed by Sholom Rubashkin they regret to this day, that they can no longer work there this was on a National Geographic documentary, what a tragedy.

Now we have a BLEVINS a name that is all over the Internet as belonging to a Neo Nazi is wanting to press charges against Rubashkin. What a Joke.

Another is Joke is we have Morris Alan who most of his members do not even Keep kosher probably never purchased Aarons Best nor Empire and are probably eating Purdue chickens and Omaha Steaks for dinner tonight and he is also against Rubashkin.

[WoolSilkCotton]

Dr. Moe,
Outside of Crown Heights, the other 3 billion people on the planet totally disagree with you.

[Successful Messiah]

WSC, I realize that it may be hard for you to process this information, but it is really simple, so if you try hard you might succeed. The immigration charges had NOTHING to do with abusing or taking advantage of illegal immigrants. Those charges are for violating laws designed to keep those people the three stooges (otherwise known as Kress, Vasquez and Blevins) claim to be representing out of this country.

[Mr. Apikorus]

There are over 6 billion people on the planet.

I guess that means there are more than 3 billion living in Crown Heights.

[effie]

They could say what ever they want to say.

You can and do - they can't. Don't project.

[sage]

+++ Now we have a BLEVINS a name that is all over the Internet as belonging to a Neo Nazi is wanting to press charges against Rubashkin. What a Joke.

Posted by: Dr. Moe | November 23, 2009 at 11:48 AM +++

It's not a joke, Moe.

This is one result of the incredible Chillul Hashem, when outwardly pious Jews commit untold injustices against Gentiles, whom they also teach their children to dispise and give permission to mistreat, at will.

[WoolSilkCotton]

Mr. A, so sorry, you're right! Oh well, 3 billion here, 3 billion there, what can you do.

I laid down to take a nap, and when I awakened, there were another 3 billion people!

Successful Messiah, your man Rubashkin lost the game. He is going to prison. Similarly, your messiah died in 1994, and you don't accept that, either. Too bad, so sad.

There are people in this country who may or may not countenance illegal immigrants, but they are supportive because those folks are so vulnerable to parasites like your beloved Sholom Mordecai. I, like those ministers, cast my lot with the victims.
Go ahead and try whatever smear tactic you'd like against those ministers. Guess whose side most people will take.

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

Blevins is a Welsh name. Many seemed to have settled in the south. If you plug in Michael Blevins into yellowpages.com, you get the following unique counts for a few random states I selected:
TN: 29
TX: 17
AL: 11
FL: 10
IA: 10
IN: 6
GA: 3
IL: 2
LA: 2

So we have a minister at a church in Iowa and a operator of day care in Florida both named Michael Blevins.

[effie]

So, is Dr. Moe dumb as a rock? Or, just a real sleaze bag?

Cast your votes:

I vote sleaze bag.

[WoolSilkCotton]

Effie, my vote is for sleaze bag. Dr. Moe may not be a doctor, but he is definitely a stooge.

[effie]

Two for dr. moe being a sleaze bag!

[Yochanan Lavie]

What do Dr. Larry and Dr. Curly say about Dr. Moe?

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

A word search shows that the name Beebe does not appear on this page yet. So, I'll just repeat what I've mentioned in other posts, the fact that Brent Beebe asked to be separated from the change in venue, so that he will stand trial on immigration charges in January that were filed against him almost exactly a year ago today.

Only time will tell if the prosecutors' decision not to proceed with overkill (I don't want to use the term "dropped the charges") was the result of politics within the Justice Department, if it is part of a strategy to prosecute more or better, if the prosecutors would be too exhausted to repeat the immigration trial for Brent Beebe if they proceeded with overkill, or if the decision was made at face value - they did not want to waste money.

I think the people and groups that provided relief service to the illegals should remain vocal in their efforts to be heard at a trial - anybody's trial. Otherwise, the influence peddlers in Washington will render their hard work for naught. These groups are still out there helping even after government walks away from the job.

[Max]

It might also be that the government is embarrassed by their own lack of support for these witnesses. When they first released these witnesses back into the communities, they did so without support, without work papers and with no place to live or a way to pay for their upkeep. The Church's were forced to step in where the Fed's failed. If this comes out in court it could open the the Fed's up to a suit by church and local government. The local government did not agree to relieve the Feds of their responsibility for these people.

[Chabadnik Attorney]

The feds don't have the same altruistic motives at seeing justice as many here do. The treatment of the undocumented aliens by Agri and the Feds was despicable.

[neighbor girl]

What does a chossid do while he has a break from his trial? Go to the bedside of a dying woman. Another "warm, fuzzy" Rubashkin story at chabad.info

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

Another unsigned article.

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

From matzav, a change-of-address:

Linn County Correctional Center
Inmate Shalom Rubashkin
P.O. Box 608
Cedar Rapids, IA 52406-0608

[effie]

In federal sentencing counts that are related to each other are grouped together and treated like one offense. Examples:

A defendant is convicted of five counts of embezzling money from a bank. The five counts are to be grouped together.

A defendant is convicted of two counts of theft of social security checks and three counts of theft from the mail, each from a different victim. All five counts are to be grouped together.

A defendant is convicted of five counts of mail fraud and ten counts of wire fraud. Although the counts arise from various schemes, each involves a monetary objective. All fifteen counts are to be grouped together.

A defendant is convicted of three counts of unlicensed dealing in firearms. All three counts are to be grouped together.

A defendant is convicted of one count of selling heroin, one count of selling PCP, and one count of selling cocaine. The counts are to be grouped together.

A defendant is convicted of three counts of tax evasion. The counts are to be grouped together.

A defendant is convicted of three counts of discharging toxic substances from a single facility. The counts are to be grouped together.

The charges in the second trial are sufficiently related with the convictions of the first trial that they would be merely grouped together and not result in any additional sentence, penalties, or fines.

This isn't politics. No one is too exhausted. IT'S THE DAMN LAW. Some of you need to live in the real world and not the conspiracy driven world that exists only in your minds.

And as far as I can tell, Brent Beebe is only named in 10 counts: conspiracy to harbor, harboring, conspiracy to commit document fraud, aiding and abetting document fraud, and 5 counts of aiding and abetting identity theft. So, even if Beebe is convicted on all 10 counts, they will be grouped together and treated like one offense.

[effie]

It might also be that the government is embarrassed by their own lack of support for these witnesses. When they first released these witnesses back into the communities, they did so without support, without work papers and with no place to live or a way to pay for their upkeep. The Church's were forced to step in where the Fed's failed. If this comes out in court it could open the the Fed's up to a suit by church and local government. The local government did not agree to relieve the Feds of their responsibility for these people.

Another person who lives in an alternative world.

It is not the job of the feds to care for witnesses. They were not mistreated by the Feds. They were given work permits. It's not the government's job to give them a free place to live and an allowance. The last time I checked, the Church's business is charity.

[effie]

The feds don't have the same altruistic motives at seeing justice as many here do. The treatment of the undocumented aliens by Agri and the Feds was despicable.

I find the people who claim to be altruistic here or say that they are interested in justice, damn right scary. The feds did not mistreat anyone.

[AGRI-vated Angel]

Though I am not privy to the legalities involved, isn't there evidence of violations relating to Discrimination Law, in particular, against the Fourteenth Amendment?

Are there not rights guaranteed to people, regardless of status, with reference to the Equal Protection Clause?

I believe violations of this nature are punishable by fines &/or incarceration.

[effie]

If they want to sue in civil court, they can. However, many states have laws against awarding punitive damages to people who are in the country illegally.

[WoolSilkCotton]

++FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican | November 23, 2009 at 08:59 PM++

I'll bet he tried to get P.O. Box 770.

++neighbor girl | November 23, 2009 at 07:41 PM++

That story on chabad.info was nauseating. Even for them, it's a new low. If anyone still doesn't think SMR is a meshichist, let them look at that website. I had to wipe the ooze off my computer screen after reading it.

[Dr. Moe]

To all the trolls who get entertained all day and night on this site, I doubt any of you would ever employ so many people who never had any oppurtunites in thier liftime coming from the poorest places in Central America such as Nicaragua, Guatmala and employ so many of these wonderfull Gentiles and Making a HUGE Kidush Hashem just like Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin made.

The Kidush Hashem is these people see how Jews are giving them great opportunity in the Middle of america and the Feds plus ICE ruin thier lives, many had to return to thier poor communities and liove in EXTREME poor conditions in Guatemala and Nicaragua.

Again this is not from me this is facts based on Interviews of some of the Illegal employees had with National Geographic Society.

call me names, call me what you like the bottom line you will never ever make such a Kidush Hashem Like Sholom Mordechia made during his years in Postville.

[AGRI-vated Angel]

An interesting note -

Many of the workers held, were not allowed work privileges at first. They were not legal; they were considered unemployable.

The government did not sustain these witnesses during the time they were prohibited from leaving this country.

In other words, if the Church wasn't merciful, alongside thousands of charitable contributors doing G_d's work; the witnesses/families would have starved or froze to death by now.

[WoolSilkCotton]

Dr. Moe, you are not even worthy of being called a stooge.

[effie]

The government did not sustain these witnesses during the time they were prohibited from leaving this country.

Nor should they have. The wits could have stayed in custody and gotten 3 hots and a cot and the families could have returned to their own country.

And the Church is suppose to be "merciful" and people are suppose to give charity. But the federal prosecutor is not everyone's daddy.

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

And here is the National Committee for Furtherance of Jewish Education wining and dining the just-elected New York County (Manhattan) District Attorney-elect:
http://collive.com/show_news.rtx?id=6391

[Mr. Apikorus]

Moe-Fo, SMR gave these people the same Kiddush Hashem the owners of the Triangle building gave to its workers who died in the Triangle Fire of 1911.

People like you, Moe-Fo, are poster children for anti-Semitism.

[Shmarya]

Again this is not from me this is facts based on Interviews of some of the Illegal employees had with National Geographic Society.

Idiot. I interviewed the filmmaker twice.

Those poor people wanted to work – they did not want to be stolen from and abused and exploited. They hate Rubashkin.

[AGRI-vated Angel]

[The government did not sustain these witnesses during the time they were prohibited from leaving this country.]

* This could also be said of special accomodations/privileges while one is incarcerated.

[Nor should they have. The wits could have stayed in custody and gotten 3 hots and a cot and the families could have returned to their own country.]

* The same could also apply to those awaiting sentencing.

This is exactly how many people feel about people who are incarcerated. After all, the federal prisons are no one's [daddy].

[effie]

This could also be said of special accomodations/privileges while one is incarcerated.

Non sequittur.

The same could also apply to those awaiting sentencing.

You make no sense.

This is exactly how many people feel about people who are incarcerated. After all, the federal prisons are no one's [daddy].

Again, you make no sense.

[AGRI-vated Angel]

Of course it makes no sense to you, Effie. You are close-minded.

[effie]

Correct. I have low to no tolerance for gibberish.