Rubashkin Trial Day 9 Morning Summary: Defense Begins

An attorney who represented Agriprocessors said the kosher slaughterhouse did not knowingly hire minors, and the state department of labor refused to provide the names of underage workers it had discovered before a May 12, 2008 immigration raid.

Rubashkin trial: Attorney said Agriprocessors wanted to fire underage workers

Jens Krogstad • Des Moines Register blog post

12:13 p.m., Waterloo, Ia. — An attorney who represented Agriprocessors said the kosher slaughterhouse did not knowingly hire minors, and the state department of labor refused to provide the names of underage workers it had discovered before a May 12, 2008 immigration raid.

State prosecutors presented an e-mail that showed Sholom Rubashkin was aware of child labor investigations by state and federal officials.

Mary Funk, who represented Agriprocessors in 2007 and 2008, said she repeatedly asked for the names of the alleged underage workers because Agriprocessors wanted to fire them. However, she said an attorney with the state told her she could not because the investigation was ongoing.

Defense attorney F. Montgomery Brown suggested the state refused to supply the names because it planned a “big bust” with “big fines.”

Funk confirmed she wrote a letter to the state labor department in February 2008 that said Agriprocessors does not “knowingly hire any employees under the age of 18.”

Funk said she wrote the statement because Agriprocessors human resources manager Elizabeth Billmeyer told her that was the policy of the kosher slaughterhouse.

Billmeyer also said that during the application process she asked for a driver’s license if she questioned their age, and would then ask for a birth certificate, Funk testified.

Funk said Billmeyer asked her what she should do if she discovered minors at the plant. She advised the company to fire them.

However, former workers who said they were minors while employed at Agriprocessors have often testified over the past several weeks that they were never asked for a driver’s license.

Assistant Iowa Attorney General Laura Roan argued the company had a month to supply the personnel files of the names and failed to do so.

Funk said it appeared federal and state labor investigators were sharing information about their child labor investigations.

In an e-mail dated April 2008, Sholom Rubashkin wrote that requests for information from the two departments need “some explanation,” and asked the opinion of his attorney.

“Does this accurately reflect the defendant’s involvement on issue?” Roan said.

“I can’t honestly say how involved he was with anything else. All I can say is that my oral communications were with Elizabeth Billmeyer on this subject,” Funk replied.

10:40 a.m., Waterloo, Ia. — Agriprocessors plant manager Garry Norris testified Wednesday that two supervisors never warned him about minors at the plant.

“The only time I was aware of minors was when I was informed someone was discovered and terminated,” he said.

He described one supervisor who testified otherwise, Mark Spangler, as an alcoholic. He called the other, Matthew Derrick, lazy. He said those qualities ultimately cost the two, whom were roommates while at Agriprocessors, their jobs.

“Are you certain that conversation did not happen?” said Deputy Iowa Attorney General Thomas H. Miller, referring to a discussion with Spangler about minors at the plant.

“Yes, I am,” Norris replied.

Norris said Sholom Rubashkin, who is facing 83 misdemeanor child labor charges, served as CEO and vice president of the kosher slaughterhouse in Postville.

Part of his duties included overseeing the finance and human resources departments, Norris said.

Norris said Rubashkin sometimes walked the plant floor.

Spangler and Derrick — as well as a third supervisor, Brian Griffith – have testified it was easy to identify minors by walking the plant floor.

However, Norris repeatedly testified that it was difficult for him to tell the ages of people.

Norris hunched over and spoke in a flat voice. He appeared to become annoyed with some questions from the prosecutor, and the two briefly started talking over each other.

Black Hawk County District Associate Judge Nathan Callahan stopped the proceedings and warned them to wait for the other to finish speaking.

After the jury left the room, Miller apologized to the judge. Callahan called him a skilled lawyer, but said his job was to control the courtroom.

“If you pick up a sword and fight with me, you’re going to get a sword fight,” Callahan said.

The next witness will be Mary Funk, a lawyer specializing in employment and labor law at the Nyemaster Good law firm in Des Moines.

9:05 a.m., Waterloo, Ia. — The defense’s first witness is former Agriprocessors plant manager Gary Norris. He’s been mentioned a few times by supervisors who said they told him about minors at the plant.

He’s now a manager at Agristar, the successor of Agriprocessors.

The Courier's report:

Manager says he didn't know minors were at Agriprocessors
By JEFF REINITZ • Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier

WATERLOO --- A former operations manager at Agriprocessors disputed claims that other workers told him there were minors working at the Postville meatpacking plant.

Gary Norris, 59, who now works for Agri Star, was the defense's first witness in the trial of former Agriprocessors executive Sholom Rubashkin.

Rubashkin is charged with 83 counts of child labor violation in state court. He also is awaiting sentencing on federal fraud charges in connection with loans the slaughterhouse received.

Norris told jurors Mark Spangler, a supervisor at the plant, never told him about concerns that underage workers were on the floor at Agriprocessors.

Spangler had been a prosecution witness earlier in the trial and testified that Norris said "what do you expect, they are a bunch of kids" when he approached Norris about worker behavior.

Norris also testified about giving a tour of the plant to labor inspectors in April 2008, a month before the immigration raid.

Earlier, state witnesses told jurors that supervisor Jeff Heasley told people to hide workers who looked underage on the day of the tour.

But Norris told jurors that he himself didn't know the reason labor inspectors were in the plant --- to look for possible minors --- until after the tour.

He said the only time he heard about underage employees was when a human resources employee had identified one worker as a minor and fired her.

Under cross-examination, Norris identified Rubashkin as the company's CEO and said finance and human resources reported to him.

Norris said it was difficult to judge the ages of workers. He said many were from Guatemala and were short in stature. He also noted they were dressed in warm clothing and in safety gear that made them look like the "Michelin Man" when they worked.

"It is difficult for me to determine the age of anyone," Norris said.

Comments

[J]

I wish him (Rubashkin) Mazel and Hatzlacha. In this case, the punishment would/does not fit the crime. Come up with a reasonable manner to alleviate the problem. He has already been incarcerated. Is that not enough with the fines he has already paid?

[sandra]

no, it's not enough AT ALL for what he did . not at all .

rubashkin short time in jail until trial is nothing .

the fines he paid is nothing . i hope his lawyers will clean him out . getting him with nothing left in his bank accounts . i hope his lawyers will clean his bank accounts to the last penny .

to fit the crimes he did , the punishment should be to let him rot in jail for 30 years . and to wipe him out of the face of the earth , to dump him among the most dangerous inmates so that they bash him and kill him . case closed .

[sandra]

bs , they did not know they were hiring minors . the workers testified , already .

i hope the jury will believe the workers and vote guilty against rubashkin

[sandra]

in the 2nd pic , rubashkin looks like the devil . a wizard coming out of crown heights ready to trick or trick . it's halloween at its best . live !

why do the lubavitchers have a need to keep that wizard costume all year round . from one generation to the other .

the way they dress is provocative . they demand to be attacked .

just take OFF THE SIRTUCK , or make it dark blue , or royal blue .

the black sirtuck clashes with halloween .

get rid of it . it's an eye sore , damn it !

[testing]

sandra , kol a kavod!

i see u share the same ideas as shmarya , i think u r a good shiduch, u hate the rubashkins, chabad,religion & ur self, u probably try to do some things and failed just like shmarya & u blame every one but ur self,

We should cut the bs & demand from the court to give shalom to us ( the self love jew ) & we will show our friends in the church , peta , union , r allen , father paul etc how we the jewish hung our own people, just lije the capos,
we must demand from the court to cut shalom and make stew meat out of him & send his blood to sandra & shmarya so the can drink & rejoy .

shmarya & sandra , u can apply for jobs with achmajidan & become his right kapo man.

[WoolSilkCotton]

Sandra, I love you.

Remember the Mountain Dew Party? It was held on erev Halloween 2008!

[sage]

Hi Sandra,

You've just coined another FM moniker - "Wizard Costume".

LOL !!!

[WoolSilkCotton]

I still wonder why SMR chose to wear the kappotah every day to court.

http://www.costumecraze.com/MEDI157.html

[sage]

Hey WSC,

That "Wizard Dunce Cap" in your link would be perfect in court !!!!

Thanks for sharing it with us.

Another LOL !!!!

[A. Nuran]

In this case, the punishment would/does not fit the crime. Come up with a reasonable manner to alleviate the problem. He has already been incarcerated. Is that not enough with the fines he has already paid?

No, it wouldn't. If he is convicted these are separate State crimes unconnected with the Federal fraud felonies of which he has already been convicted. They are all very serious crimes.

He hasn't cooperated with restitution efforts or any post-trial investigations.

He has shown no remorse.

"Time served" would be an insult to people convicted of similar crimes who have served decades in prison. Why should he get a finger-wagging and a slap on the wrist when the sentencing guidelines call for years upon years? Because he's Jewish? That's not just a bullshit reason. It's evil.

[sandra]

'testing',

not only i hate the rubashkins ,
i hate all chabad ppl, bc they are liars
and they don't help other jews . they only help themselves . the other jews do NOT COUNT for them . they use their money to help themselves with .

i know them too well . i know them more than they know themselves . and they are all the same . no exception. you cannot find one who's better than the other .

lubavitchers are sweet talkers .they sweet talk you to get something from you .

i know them for 30 years . nothing has changed . they are the same from one generation to another . identical .

testing, you are wrong. i do not hate myself . i love myself . i protect myself from these ppl , cuz i do not want to get hurt .

testing, you are wrong . shmarya is not failing . that's in your head . u r probably on drugs or something . or brainwashed to the core to the point you cannot think for yourself .

shmarya is booming . his web is blossoming . thanks to shmarya , we ALL KNOW now the crap about ' religious ppl '. shmarya 's web is awsome . it's like moshiah coming .

'testing', i don't drink blood . i want to see rubashkin dead .

[androgynous]

how do u guys know that he forsure knew hew had minors? i am also sitting like a bored soul on the internet all day with nothing to do but post or failed messiah and i dont have any proof to prove either side, do you guys know anything more then what you read online? did you get molested by his son in law and therefore hate his family?

Shmarya, sage, and all you other broken souls here is a story for you;

There was a bird named shmaya who landed on a tree in a certail city and he started to sniff around and a pungent smell came to his nose - it smelled like dung, he said "this place stinks - let me go somewhere normal", he flew from city to city and the same thing happened, he started to wonder if perhaps he is the only normal smelling thing around.

After a while he went to seel the counsul of the great "sage", the sage told him "perhaps you should chek whats in your nose", and guess what he found in his nose? he found crap.

Vehamayvin yovin

[sandra]

each and every lubavitch is a rubashkin

[Abracadabra]

Shmarya -

Why didn't the prosecution call Agri's human resources manager Elizabeth Billmeyer to testify?

My understanding is she pleaded guilty, but she could have been supeanaed and they could/should have given her a waiver for incriminating herself since she's going to jail anyway. Why didn't they do that?

Ditto for anyone else who pleaded guilty.

Sorry if I'm asking a dumb question, but your enlightenment would be appreciated.