Rubashkin Sentence Seen As ‘Piling On’

“A sentence of 27 years is beyond excessive, it is patently offensive — especially for a nonviolent crime in a case where the defendant had no prior criminal record,” said noted criminal attorney Ben Brafman, who was not involved in the case.

Rubashkin Sentence Seen As ‘Piling On’

But debate over whether 27-year rap will hold up on appeal.

Stewart Ain • New York Jewish Week

The 27-year bank fraud sentence imposed Tuesday on Sholom Rubashkin, former manager of what was once the nation’s largest kosher slaughterhouse, was widely viewed by law professors and criminal defense attorneys alike as too severe.

“A sentence of 27 years is beyond excessive, it is patently offensive — especially for a nonviolent crime in a case where the defendant had no prior criminal record,” said noted criminal attorney Ben Brafman, who was not involved in the case.

James A. Cohen, associate professor of law at Fordham University School of Law who was also not involved in the case, said of the sentence: “There’s a concept in sports known as ‘piling on.’ This situation could fairly be described as piling on.”

A stiff sentence had been expected because the federal judge, Linda Reade of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is “the second-worst sentencer in the country, and lawyers who have appeared before her said she is cruel,” said Washington, D.C., attorney Nathan Lewin, who will handle Rubashkin’s appeal.

But few expected her to impose a sentence that is two years more than federal prosecutors requested following his November conviction on 86 counts of financial fraud and related offenses. In a 52-page sentencing memorandum, Reade explained that she added the two additional years because she believes Rubashkin lied on the witness stand.

“It’s called obstruction,” explained Cohen. “Whenever a defendant makes a statement and the case goes against him, the judge is entitled to tack on points [jail time] for obstruction. There is no question she is entitled to do that, but she is not obligated to do it. It sounds as though this judge applied a mechanistic approach to the [federal sentencing] guidelines.”

The guidelines are designed to help judges decide an appropriate sentence, but in a series of rulings beginning in January 2005 the U.S. Supreme Court has held that these guidelines are not mandatory.

“Judges must look at them but are not obligated to follow them,” Cohen said. “The standard of review for a sentence now is whether it was reasonable. In this particular case, it sounds as if there is considerable controversy over the application of the guidelines and whether 27 years for a guy in these circumstances is reasonable.”

Unless the sentence is overturned, Rubashkin, who is Chabad Lubavitch, would be required to serve about 23 years before being eligible for release. Reade said he must then remain on five years supervised probation after his release and must immediately pay about $27 million in restitution.

Brafman said in an e-mail that a judge is required to impose a “reasonable sentence that is ‘not’ greater than necessary. My expectation is that this sentence will not pass appellate review and Mr. Rubashkin’s case will be sent back for re-sentencing before a different judge.”

Lewin said the severity of the sentence would be one of his grounds for appeal. He pointed out that such a sentence for a man who turned 50 in October “is tantamount to life.”

Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, executive vice president of the Agudath Israel of America, issued a statement calling it “a dark day for American justice. ... It is a dark day as well for American Jewry. While none of us condones any wrongdoing by Mr. Rubashkin, the extraordinary severity of the sentence imposed upon one of our Jewish brothers sends chills of shock and apprehension down our collective spin. This is a horrifying development.”

But Marc Stern, an attorney and co-executive director of the American Jewish Congress, said he does not believe the way Reade applied the sentencing guidelines is sufficient to set aside the sentence.

“There is nothing wrong with making them the presumptive sentence,” Stern said. “Before the Supreme Court changed the rule, it was thought they were mandatory. Now the courts are free to depart from them as long as they give a reason. In that regard, there is nothing to criticize the district court [Reade] for. The fact that she applied the guidelines is not in and of itself grounds for reversal. If she thought she was bound by them, that would be reversible error. But she recites the correct standard about them being advisory.”

On the other hand, Stern said, he found the sentence “very much on the harsh side and troubling. And I am equally or more troubled by the efforts to turn Rubashkin into some sort of saint who is an innocent being persecuted.”

Lewin pointed out that in an unprecedented action, six former U.S. attorneys general wrote to Reade opposing life in prison for Rubashkin, a position the prosecutor had been reportedly prepared to request. But he was also quick to say that Rubashkin himself admitted after trial that Agriprocessors, the Postville, Iowa, company owned by his father and which he managed, had submitted inflated invoices to the bank in order to borrow more money from the company’s $35 million line of credit without the requisite collateral.

“He said he made mistakes,” Lewin said of his client. “Whether he himself inflated the invoices is not clear. Someone else submitted them and to what extent he was responsible for that is debatable. There was testimony that it was done at Rubashkin’s direction.”

He stressed that the bank was being repaid the loan — more than $21 million in interest over the eight or nine years that Rubashkin began tapping into the line of credit.

“The bank didn’t think his operation would go bankrupt until the federal immigration raid [in May 2008],” Lewin said. “If there had been no raid, the loan would have been paid. ... The government caused the loan to go sour.”

He pointed out that Agriprocessors had hired the same law firm that another slaughterhouse hired to prevent the immigration raid. The firm was able to derail the raid on the other business with a promise to help weed out illegal immigrants workers. Lewin said a similar request on behalf of Agriprocessors was not honored and that the “raid closed his business.”

U.S. Attorney Stephanie Rose issued a statement after the sentence saying that “claims Rubashkin’s religious beliefs led to his prosecution have no foundation. His faith had nothing to do with his crimes, prosecution, or punishment.”

She said the evidence at trial showed that Rubashkin “committed money laundering by running tens of millions of dollars through bank accounts at a Postville grocery store and a religious school,” and that he was personally involved in “harboring hundreds of undocumented worker” and bought them fabricated identification.

“Over a two-year time period when money was being fraudulently obtained from a lender, Rubashkin funneled about $1.5 million from Agriprocessors’ accounts to his personal bank accounts,” she said. “The money was used, in part, to pay approximately $300,000 on his credit card bills, approximately $200,000 for a portion of the remodeling of his residence, approximately $76,000 for his personal state and federal income tax, approximately $41,000 for his mortgage payments on his personal residence, approximately $25,000 for jewelry, approximately $20,000 for sterling silver, $1,245 per month for life insurance, and $365 per month for his car payment.

“Sholom Rubashkin expended enormous efforts to hide his many crimes from the public and law enforcement. On top of that, there have been orchestrated efforts to spread false information intended to elicit sympathy for him. It is a tragedy that many people were misled by this misinformation calculated to distract the public from the truth. The truth came out at trial and sentencing. ... The damage caused by Mr. Rubashkin cannot be fully tallied. However, today the house of cards he constructed finally was brought down. When something is built on lies, it should be no surprise when it collapses under the weight of those lies.”

Before the trial began, Lewin said prosecutors offered to recommend a 15-year sentence if Rubashkin pleaded guilty, an offer that was rejected out of hand.

“He would have been crazy to take it at the age of 50,” Lewin said. “That was an extortionate demand. He has [now] admitted to the things he did and he deserves a sentence of two or three years.”

Zwiebel said he was surprised that the judge discounted as a mitigating factor the fact that Rubashkin has an autistic 16-year-old son.

“She said it was a non-factor because he has a loving wife and is part of a loving and wonderful community,” Zwiebel said, referring to the fact that Rubashkin is Chabad.

Comments

[harold]

It is clear that this was a court and a trial that was out for punishment not for justice. Even the long delay between the decision and the sentencing was a farce. I am sure that this judge decided on the max the day after the verdict was handed down. I am sure she did not deliberate all this time to weigh the appropriateness of the punishment, both to Sholom and to his family. It was to wait until all trial issues concluded so then Judge Reade can have the floor and can stand over Sholom, plunge the dagger in him (25yrs) and then give it a twist (2yrs) for good measure. She is no judge, she is an executioner.

I have placed a Google News alert on her so I can follow what other decisions this monster comes up with.

[INFORMED]

Let me explain something to all that read and post here. The only lawyer's that are calling the sentence harsh are eith Jewish or depend on the orthodox. He got 27 years and he will do at least 20, he might, by the grace of god, get 5 or six years knocked off

[Ma Rabbi]

Judge Reade is infamous as a harsh and vindictive judge. Thats why the Govt picked her. They were out to get him.
Is Judge Reade the same one that authorized the raid on Agri?
If so, would this not be a conflict of interest? Any lawyers who can answer this?

[Shmarya]

Judge Reade is infamous as a harsh and vindictive judge. Thats why the Govt picked her.

The "Govt" did NOT pick her.

Cases go out by rotation, and she is the chief judge of that court.

[effie]

I wonder under what laws he is eligible for release after 23 years? I know they did away with federal parole. They can get 6 months off their sentence if they are a certain age and have served over 10 years. And there is a 1 year half way house release.

I read recently that since the Booker decision that said that the Guidelines were not mandatory, instead of sentences for white collar crime going down, they've gone up.

So far, those with the defense, the leaders of Jewish organizations, and defense attys object to the sentence. It seems like one sided reporting. None of them address the obstruction -- destruction of evidence, sending witnesses out of the country, perjury, etc., which I believe warrants the sentence.

“He would have been crazy to take it at the age of 50,” Lewin said." “That was an extortionate demand. He has [now] admitted to the things he did and he deserves a sentence of two or three years.”

But, rolling the dice with a very high probability you would receive an even higher sentence is not crazy. Okay. And I don't see how admitting your crimes after you were convicted and facing a long sentence is mitigating.

Zwiebel said he was surprised that the judge discounted as a mitigating factor the fact that Rubashkin has an autistic 16-year-old son.

I'm not. The case they are relying on is where the father admitted guilt, made restitution, was facing a very short sentence (I think a year or less), and provided the necessary intensive hands on care for his son. Do they really think that the fact that SMR has a 16 year old autistic son that is being well provided for, merits knocking off 25 years from his sentence? The way they are trying to use this kid borders on the obscene.

[WoolSilkCotton]

The trolls will continue to go ape shit ballistic on behalf of their beloved Meat Messiah for a few more days.

Let it all fly, Harold, Dr. Moe, Cheskel, MA Rabbi and Successful Messiah! I am enjoying every minute of your histrionics.

27 years. Thank G-d. Crime does not pay.

The trolls do not recognize Rubashkin's actions as crimes, because anything done to a nonreligious Jew or a nonJew is simply not a crime.

[WoolSilkCotton]

If he would have taken the 12 year plea deal, and followed my 6-step WSC Plan, he could have gotten knocked down to less than a decade in prison.
But no. He truly thought that with enough bluster and bombast he could bully his way out of it, because that's always been SMR's way of doing things.
Rude wake up call for SMR. Too bad, so sad.

[Bill]

Mental disabilities in general are extremely common among Orthodox Jews because of inbreeding, poor rearing skills, and extremely large families.

Breeding children with these types of problems is not a get-out-of-jail card for thier criminal parents.

If it were, then artificial selection would, in the long run, result in a selective advantage for a parasitic population of criminals with mental disabilities - not good!

[danny]

Chaim Dovid Zwiebel said: "It is a dark day as well for American Jewry. While none of us condones any wrongdoing by Mr. Rubashkin, the extraordinary severity of the sentence imposed upon one of our Jewish brothers sends chills of shock and apprehension down our collective spin [sic]. This is a horrifying development.”

Speak for yourself Chaim. Don't include my spine in your collective spine. I feel no chills of shock, just resigned sadness.

[WoolSilkCotton]

++none of us condones any wrongdoing by Mr. Rubashkin++

Danny, they all condone all wrongdoing by Mr. Rubashkin, just like the trolls here do. I too feel sadness, because nothing was learned from all this, either by Mr. Rubashkin or by his supporters.

Bill, agreed. What about all the criminals in prison with 10 or more children, sometimes with multiple mothers, and sometimes the kids have autism, ADHD, fetal alcohol syndrome, or other unfortunate issues?

Should the criminal dads of any such kids get a free pass out of jail? The exploitation of the autistic Rubashkin child was shameful.

[Bill]

Wool,

The argument is that these mentally-disabled minors "need" the guidance and supervision of their criminal fathers.

If anything, perhaps it is all the more important to keep these vulnerable children away from corrupting influence of their criminals parents.

[Robert Wisler]

I was very impressed by Getzel Rubashkin's speech at the Borough Park rally. He seems like a very sincere and mature young man. I hope that God shows mercy to his family.

[Bill]

criminal, even

[Cheskel]

WSC,

They say you don't shit where you eat.

If anyone can be called a blood sucker that would be you. You are making a living from frum (or charedi as you call them)Jews and all you do is curse and wish bad on them day and night.

Shame on you.

[Ma Rabbi]

" Cases go out by rotation"
So you dont think someone made sure that Judge Reade would get this case. I find that very naive on your part.
BTW please answer my question. Is she the same judge that signed the authorization for the raid on Agri?
Thank you

[Shmarya]

So you dont think someone made sure that Judge Reade would get this case. I find that very naive on your part.

Like I said. Cases go out by rotation, and based on who has openings on their calendar.

Is she the same judge that signed the authorization for the raid on Agri?

What do you mean by authorization?

[WoolSilkCotton]

How do I make a living from the frum? Only a few of the clientele where I work are Lakewood frummies, and they are ALL on Medicaid (that is NOT an exaggeration). Medicaid pays 12 cents on the dollar for what we bill.
If the Lakewood frummies went elsewhere, nobody where I work would be upset.

I do not curse them or wish them bad. I make it a point to show kindness and Ahavas Yisroel to frum clients. Most of them respond in kind, and we exchange kindness, pleasantries, and words of Torah.
Only YOU curse people and wish them bad. I wish people would do good, and stop being criminals.

[effie]

My theory is that the judge drew straws and the loser got the case. I mean, come on! This case had 'pain in the ass' written all over it. No one needs the grief nor the death threats.

[harold]

Here we are bemoaning why the orthodox Jewish community doesn't embrace the US system of justice as the judicial system of first choice ("Jewish Community Still Behind On Confronting Sexual Abuse” as an example) and at the same time we see how the system "works"(NOT). After this fiasco, don't expect the orthodox to go running to the US system for justice, punishment, yes, justice, no. There is simply too much collateral damage by the time the justice system is done with a case.

Obviously by virtue of the fact that here in Gallus only the US courts have power to incarcerate (i.e. punish). This does not mean one cannot do some preliminary “detective” work to see if there is no other recourse other than to enter the shark infested (media) waters of the US court system.

[Ma Rabbi]

" The Judge drew straws"
She is the chief judge of that court. She has the power to accept or reject cases.
She either wanted the case to make sure that Rubashkin would receive a harsh sentence or someone in the Govt asked her to take the case herself.

[itchiemayer]

Zwiebel and Lerner purposely use inflammatory words. So what is Zwiebel "apprehensive" about, that the secret police will show up at his door and put him on a train to a concentration camp, chas v'shalom? They need to stop with the code words, and the Rubashkin supporters need to stop demonizing the Judge. She has been compared to Dracula, called a monster, a rasha, et al. Ridiculous. It is ok to disagree with her, but when you call her names, you make her sub-human and infer from this that you are somehow superior. You are not, so get over it.

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

I took a closer look at Monday's sentencing memorandum, and there is not as much "piling on" of charges as I thought. I took at look at the USSC's web site, then compared it to Monday's document. The base offense level of 7 is for bank fraud. I couldn't find any additional numbers for mail fraud and wire fraud (which I had thought previously were assessed). I couldn't find any increase for the monthly duplicates of bogus reports to the bank. The "big ticket item" is the dollar amount of the fraud:

(1) If the loss exceeded $5,000, increase the offense level as follows:
Loss(Apply the Greatest) Increase in Level
(A) $5,000 or less no increase
(B) More than $5,000 add 2
(C) More than $10,000 add 4
(D) More than $30,000 add 6
(E) More than $70,000 add 8
(F) More than $120,000 add 10
(G) More than $200,000 add 12
(H) More than $400,000 add 14
(I) More than $1,000,000 add 16
(J) More than $2,500,000 add 18
(K) More than $7,000,000 add 20
(L) More than $20,000,000 add 22
(M) More than $50,000,000 add 24
(N) More than $100,000,000 add 26
(O) More than $200,000,000 add 28
(P) More than $400,000,000 add 30.

Item (L) was applied, for 22 points.

We also heard about violation of the Packers and Stockyards Act. But, I can't find any increase of offense level for that. The judge ruled that the prosecution did not determine the amount of loss to livestock suppliers other than for Waverly Sales, so there was no increase of offense level for the "number of victims" section. So anyone who brings up that "archic law that no was was ever charged with" again is wasting his breath.

So there you have it. Points were only assessed for well-documented offenses. Plenty of stuff the jurors returned a guilty verdict on did not increase the sentence. All that remains to be seen if an appeals court will order the district court to re-sentence the defendent.

[a yid]

I’m surprised at the shortsightedness of some of the readers of this Blog. Those that decry not going to the authorities in the case of abuse, white collar crime amongst haradim, etc. This is a black day for those causes. To many observers, especially in the Haradi world (doesn’t matter how many times u say SMR lied and what not, shmarya) he is getting a lot worse then he deserves. This destroys faith in the justice system. the excessiveness loses any deterrent effect on others for being too exaggerated under the circumstances. In sentencing too little as well as too much can destroy the public's sense of a need for justice.
But it seems some of you hate SMR more then you care about justice, Haradi white collar crime or sexual abusers being prosecuted.
I can understand Shmarya being unhappy about the sentence, as he can rightly claim to have been a part of what caused it

[effie]

"Posted by: Ma Rabbi: " The Judge drew straws" She is the chief judge of that court. She has the power to accept or reject cases. She either wanted the case to make sure that Rubashkin would receive a harsh sentence or someone in the Govt asked her to take the case herself."

It was a joke. I was making fun of your belief that she or anyone else would wanted the case. Chief judges are on the trial rotation. Her number came up. There was no conspiracy.

[effie]

a yid: Shmarya had absolutely nothing to do with the sentence. No one is denying SMR the right to appeal. If errors were truly made at sentencing, they will be corrected. If not, you and others will just have to live with it. And frankly, no matter what the sentence was, a certain group of people would have whined about it as if SMR only eserved a hand shake and a gold watch.

[former charedi]

First of all, If I understand correctly, the guidelines concern how many years to add when certain amounts of money are defrauded. To me, it is debatable whether these guidelines should be applied when there is a working business paying its bills that falsifies collateral documents related to a loan, especially when the failure to pay that loan is due to a government shutdown which was itself based on unproven charges. If the government were open to justice, they would let Rubashkin sue them back for the damages incurred by him due to the shutdown of his business due to unproven labor charges.

And to me there is no question that the only amount defrauded would be the amount of money that would not have been able to be repaid if the business continued to be a working concern. Once a business is shut down, even the money secured by "actual" collateral would not be able to be fully repaid at auction.

Secondly, using the term "money laundering" when talking about moving one's own money around, not terrorist money, drug money, or another type of criminal organization's money where the launderer makes a commission on cleaning the money, is a misleading sound bite.

On a side note: does anybody here know any judges personally? I know that taking a case is not always based on simple rotation.

Finally, if Reade signed the search documents or had any other authority in the execution of the raid that led to the plant shutdown - based on labor charges that were not proven - then she would have a conflict of interest in the fraud case, simply because she has incentive to paint Rubashkin in the harshest possible light and to prevent counter suits, which are hard to effect when the defendant is incarcerated and has no money to fight with.

In short, I think it is very possible that the guidelines were improperly applied, though they may fulfill the technical requirements if one want to do so, and the Judge should have recused herself from the sentencing.

[harold]

And frankly, no matter what the sentence was, a certain group of people would have whined about it

Well, as they say you can't please everyone. However, it is clear that this was not a just sentence. Its handling will have real life repercussions since it will increase the alienation of the haredim who were suspicious as it is as to the appropriateness of reaching out to the secular courts for issues like child abuse. Now this fiasco will only drive them away, for this case has all the negative attributes, media attention, perceived anti-Semitism, lack of compassion for accused and victims, heavy handedness, and mostly the fact that there was only punishment, no justice.

[itchiemayer]

He lied to keep the business afloat. In other words, it was operating with money illegally obtained. Therefore, the business was failing on its own and it is a copout to blame the government.

[Ma Rabbi]

Former Charedi
You articulate the point I was trying to make. She was in fact the judge who signed the order for the raid. Therefore, she should NOT have tried the case. There is a conflict of interest here. I hope the defense team will use this on appeal.
BTW thank you for pointing out that who gets the case is not just based on rotation.

[ML]

Harold writes:However, it is clear that this was not a just sentence.

What is clear is that you haven't the faintest idea of what clear means.

May you forever remain a slave to your biases.

[state of disgust]

"To me, it is debatable whether these guidelines should be applied when there is a working business paying its bills that falsifies collateral documents related to a loan"

Wrong.

They were not paying their bills. There were a number of companies that had brought suit against Agriprocessor for failure to pay bills, including the design firm that designed their packaging ($100,000).
The terms of their loan agreement were that accounts receivable that came into the company were to be deposited in the lenders corresponding bank in Decorah, IA. Instead SMR had them deposited in his other accounts. That is a violation of his loan agreement and it allowed SMR to draw down more money from his line-of-credit then he was allowed. This was a loss for the bank as a cost-of-opportunity-forgone: That was money they could not lend to someone else because they were obligated under the terms of the loan to give it to Agriprocessor which obtained it by hoodwinking the bank.
Second, he used some of these funds (stolen from the bank) for personal use including paying his income taxes.
Third, the company was failing and started its downward spiral 10 years before. It didn't fail because of the raid. SMR was playing a giant ponzi scheme using money that came into the company to pay bills that were overdue, getting cattle or birds on credit, than were processed and sold using the proceeds to pay old bills, etc.But he always fell father and father behind. He often dickered with suppliers to pay them less then they they were contracted to receive by withholding payment until they agreed to a lesser amount.

[state of disgust]

"Secondly, using the term "money laundering" when talking about moving one's own money around,"

It wasn't his money that he was moving. It was the bank's money.And, he moved it in order to deceive the bank so he could take more money from them.

[effie]

Judge Reade was not the judge who signed the warrants.

[former charedi]

He lied to keep the business afloat. In other words, it was operating with money illegally obtained. Therefore, the business was failing on its own and it is a copout to blame the government.

None of that follows logically.

First of all, he may have inflated the collateral value, as many do, in order to grow the business. It may have been able to exist in a smaller version without the extra money.

And there is no *therefore". One should not be sentenced for what might have been. It seems from where I sit (I hate to claim "fact") that the business was brought down violently by the unsubstantiated claims of prosecutors. To say that it could have happened anyway, or that it would have happened anyway had he not committed fraud, is not a valid reason to force him to pay it all back.

It did not happen "that way" and the government should need to pick up some of the damages in a just, democratic, civil liberties based society. Anything else is just claiming that he should be punished because he is a "bad man". Maybe he is a bad man, but our society was established to prevent those who are not liked by the majority from having to pay the brunt of all claims.

The prosecution brought down that business for reasons that they failed to prove. Let them put the business back in working order, with all bills paid to the present date, pay for damages incurred by the loss of employees, vendors and customers and good faith, and then demand the new loan be repaid. Besides being more fair to the defendant, it would a lot less damaging to society as a whole.

[former charedi]

They were not paying their bills. There were a number of companies that had brought suit against Agriprocessor for failure to pay bills, including the design firm that designed their packaging ($100,000).

Lots of companies have pending suits. Lots of companies even stiff their suppliers. Perhaps not pretty, but no proof that the company was a failure.

The terms of their loan agreement were that accounts receivable that came into the company were to be deposited in the lenders corresponding bank in Decorah, IA. Instead SMR had them deposited in his other accounts. That is a violation of his loan agreement and it allowed SMR to draw down more money from his line-of-credit then he was allowed. This was a loss for the bank as a cost-of-opportunity-forgone: That was money they could not lend to someone else because they were obligated under the terms of the loan to give it to Agriprocessor which obtained it by hoodwinking the bank.

If this is true, they violated their loan agreement. Not cause to shut the company down in one fell swoop and prevent them from earning the money to pay this off. It is actionable in other ways. Not this way.

Second, he used some of these funds (stolen from the bank) for personal use including paying his income taxes.

Okay, actionable but (again) not by shutting them down this way.

Third, the company was failing and started its downward spiral 10 years before.

Most companies are in trouble today. Not cause to shut the company down.

It didn't fail because of the raid.

It sure did totally and completely collapse due to the raid. It's silly to claim it would have gone down in flames at that time without government intervention.

SMR was playing a giant ponzi scheme using money that came into the company to pay bills that were overdue, getting cattle or birds on credit, than were processed and sold using the proceeds to pay old bills, etc. But he always fell father and father behind.

A business in trouble perhaps, but he was not Madoff by any means.

He often dickered with suppliers to pay them less then they they were contracted to receive by withholding payment until they agreed to a lesser amount.

Hah! What do you do for a living? Many of us have come up against customers like this. There are ways of dealing with it that do no involve raiding and shutting down a working concern.

It wasn't his money that he was moving. It was the bank's money. And, he moved it in order to deceive the bank so he could take more money from them.

And that is not laundering.

[effie]

Did the feds have a valid search warrant? Yes. Did the feds have probable cause to arrest SMR and try him? Yes.

So, it's crazy for anyone to argue that the feds are responsible for damages to the business.

[OMG]

Posted by: Ma Rabbi | June 23, 2010 at 02:21 PM

No, the search warrant was signed by Judge Jon Stuart Scoles on May 9th 2008 and the affidavit in support of the search warrant was signed by Senior Special Agent David Hoagland also on May 9th 2008. See

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2008/05/rubashkin-searc.html

All the research I did about this case I came up with the fact that Judge Reade’s only involvement with this case prior receiving this case from the docket, was as chief Judge in the Circuit, she was informant that a major action is going to take place, and up to 700 illegal’s might be arrested, and her job as chief Judge requires her to make sure that there would be sufficient defense attorneys and interpreters in court.
There was one charge by Mr. Cole that she might have dealt with the guilty pleas albeit after the raid but before the people were officially charged, which would be illegal. But even Mr. Cole’s letter, nowhere in this letter did he say that Judge Reade did something illegal at the meeting with the defense counsel, every time when he pointed a finger at Judge Reade he qualified the charge with a adjective which means, I don’t know firsthand but I speculate, that by itself doesn’t mean noting in a court of law.

Finally thought the case the supports of Rubashkin just regurgitate what they hear in the Mikvah or other blogs, the fact is that myself as a conservative Jew, when I saw that the prosecution had a few superseding indictments, I to believed that it must be Anti-Semitisms or at a minimum prosecutorial overreach, but I started to do research with the intention to prove my view, I found out that SMR was a par excellences thief. Furthermore, the more I looked at the history of the family I was shocked at the business dealings they did and the different illegal activities they were charged and convicted for. I came away with the understanding that they are a criminal enterprise, in its full meaning. Regardless, in my political leanings I am a progressive, so I was hoping for a lower sentence, but God has his ways to punish misbehaver, he did send to SMR a Judge who is a conservative who doesn’t believe in pity for the criminals obviously she doesn’t believe in rehabilitation, so the mouth you SMR feed and support all the republican causes came back and bite you

[former charedi]

Did the feds have a valid search warrant? Yes. Did the feds have probable cause to arrest SMR and try him? Yes.

So, it's crazy for anyone to argue that the feds are responsible for damages to the business.

But they failed to prove the case that generated the warrant and shut down the business, so they should be held accountable for shutting the business down. They could have instituted ways for the plant to continue operation while the labor charges were investigated. But they were so sure of themselves that they did not do so.

Saying it was a valid warrant just means that the judge in charge of sentencing okayed the warrant. That's even worse.

A warrant based on cause is one thing. Shutting down a large company based on unsubstantiated charges should be actionable by the defendant. Someone in authority deciding to go in in such a heavy handed, irresponsible manner and then not be held accountable does not make it okay.

[OMG]

Posted by:FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican | June 23, 2010 at 12:41 PM
Very good analysis

[G]

Ordinarily, I would be upset for a man such as SMR, getting 27 years etc.

But in this case, I am happy.
Why? because all those moronic individuals in Crown Hts, who spend their lives defending criminal behaviour by a "frum" man, should learn a lesson.

Unfortunately, they have learned nothing.
WSC you are right, but some morons do not understand what you are trying to say, because they have a problem with truth and reality.

[former charedi]

Ordinarily, I would be upset for a man such as SMR, getting 27 years etc.

But in this case, I am happy.
Why? because all those moronic individuals in Crown Hts, who spend their lives defending criminal behaviour by a "frum" man, should learn a lesson.

Ah, so you are saying that you ordinarily would be upset, but here you are happy because of the effect it would have on people other than the defendant .

That is not justice, compassion, or even-handedness. In fact, it shows a heartless disregard for the person who was sentenced.

Not much to discuss here, when you treat individuals as mere data points, whose suffering provide a good object lesson for others. What's next, experiments on twins?

[moshe]

How about Mordechai Samet who received a 27-year federal sentence for a 5 million dollar fraud. He has been in prison already 7 years and none of you appears to be complaining that his sentence was unfair. No street protests. No Internet complaining. Why not? He is a Satmar Jew, who gave charity, is religious, and has many little children. Is it because SMR is a chabadnick and other Jews are not? Why the difference? Is it because SMR robbed by giving us kosher meat and feeding our gluttony?

[state of disgust]

"they violated their loan agreement. Not cause to shut the company down in one fell swoop and prevent them from earning the money to pay this off."

What the bank did when it discovered they were being scammed is cut Agripprocessor off and refused to give them one additional red cent. SMR went to Crown Heights looking for backers to keep himself in business. No bank would touch them because they already owed more than $25 million. The Haredi community took a pass and said no. If Agriprocessor was such a great matziah why didn't folks from the diamond district etc put up the funds?
Sorry, the bank didn't put SMR out of business, SMR but SMR out of business.

"And that is not laundering."

Tell it to the Gotti family.
Finally, a jury of his peers, disagree with your assessment that this is not laundering and convicted him.

The problem is that you and the rest of the Haredi community always look for someone else to blame. Before it was the Conservative Movement, then it was the union, then it was anti-Semites, now it is the Judge.

SMR is a crook. He stole money some of which went to his own wallet. You may not think that stealing $1.5+million for himself is serious but where I come from that's a whole lotta serious. I was shocked when I heard the sentence but when I read the Judge's sentencing memo, I understood why she gave him 27.
The real question is whether or not you and your buddies will learn anything from all this or will you continue to concoct cockamamie schemes to scam others.

[yidandahalf]

"the government caused the loan to go sour". Sham Wow is in good hands, Lewin can't help but win the appeal. The shnorrers who take a cut at every donation will be making a killing. It's starting to give me ideas.

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

+++Shutting down a large company based on unsubstantiated charges should be actionable by the defendant. Someone in authority deciding to go in in such a heavy handed, irresponsible manner and then not be held accountable does not make it okay.+++

I would give that argument serious consideration if the government just came out of the blue one day and raided the place. But the government was telling Agri for a long time some of their workforce was dubious. This site gave a running account of operational problems at Agri after the raid until the appointment of the receiver/trustee. We know the bank restricted funding. We know Agri had problems replacing the workforce. We know some products did not get shipped. I don't know if any customers stopped paying their bills because they thought they could get away with it. The "shut down" was the result of the actions of entities beside the government. So looking for a government bailout of Agri is just plain silly.

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

Sorry, I started that post hours ago but got interrupted. I didn't see some of the later enties.

[nachos]

Ma Rabbi:

Where were the teachers at the school telling Shalom not to run the bank's money through the school checking account? Why couldn't they grow a spine and tell him what he was doing was wrong?

Shalom and his attorney's stated Postville was just like nazi occuppied Poland. Where is the outrage among Jews about that statement?

[nachos]

Cheskel:

You still owe me an answer to my question. Given what is going on in Israel, what exactly is a "Jewish Heart?" This is a question, I am struggling with.

Can any of you frum Yids see the hand of hashem in this whole travesty, or are your hearts to hard?

[nachos]

effie:

A question for you:

Can someone other than the family approach the prosecution and say they would pay some of the restitution if the prosecution requests a a lesser sentence?

Where is Aaron? Why does he hate his son so much that he hung him out to dry? Would anyone here not trade their life for their child's. What a selfish person Aaron is!!!

[effie]

former charedi: Those were state charges - not federal. Plus, the AG dismissed without prejudice 90 of the counts dealing with illegal aliens. Why don't you write them a letter and demand that they reinstate them if that will make you feel better?

You have seem not to haven't gotten the memo: Reade did not issue the search warrant.

Plus, after the immigration raid, they had few employees. That's Rubashkin's fault - not the feds.

[effie]

nachos: I don't think the victims care who pays the restitution, they just want to be made whole. I doubt the court would agree to lower the sentence because of it. It would be favorable for him farther down the line when he is eligible for early release though I still question whether he really is eligible. Someone said that he might only serve 23 years.

[mordecai]

It is an insanely harsh sentence. I do not know how there is a benefit to having a man sit in a cell for 27 years. Murders, rapists, and armed robbers get less. I am no fan of Rubashkin. I have often visit clients in jails. They are disgusting places that are breeding places for illness and violence. A man sits in a cell and is a father but can't function as such. He may be a son but can't function as such. There is something about prisons that destroys the soul. This was a nonviolent crime. Restitution, a moderate prison sentence followed by probation and community service would serve the interests of justice.

[sage]

+++ What a selfish person Aaron is!!!

Posted by: nachos | June 23, 2010 at 06:39 PM +++

He might as well change his name to Aaron Corleone.

[WoolSilkCotton]

++Restitution, a moderate prison sentence followed by probation and community service ++

He could have had that if he cooperated with the idea of a plea deal.

Instead, it was in-your -face all the way, and now reality sets in for him and his supporters.

[state of disgust]

SMR believes he made a few mistakes, but won't admit he committed crimes. For him to admit he committed crimes would shatter his self image. He could no longer view himself as a righteous man, a man that had been doing G-d's work and bringing Moshiach.
It is that self deception and the psychosis of other Chabadnikim that has brought many in the Jewish community to view Chabad as nothing more than a cult.

[effie]

I'm sorry but I wouldn't trust him to do probation and community service. It would be lie and scam and he would have people helping him to do it.

It's like the guy they wouldn't let out of jail to see his wife in the hospital. The guy is in custody b/c he wouldn't obey a court order. He's not going to obey a court order to return to jail.

[former charedi]

It is that self deception and the psychosis of other Chabadnikim that has brought many in the Jewish community to view Chabad as nothing more than a cult.

All organized religions are cults. Some just have more cult members than others. IMO, the distinguishing factor is that the cult members consider themselves in the "us" group and everyone else is in the "them" group.

I also view those few posters here who vilify all charedi and deify all secular as secular cultists. Like scientists who need to believe that since they are scientists they cannot have religion. Or like some religious who feel that since they are holy, they can't accept science.

All you humans are nuts. I'm proud to be a Klingon.

[Bassy the Haredi Slayer]

He could have had that if he cooperated with the idea of a plea deal.

Yes, if he would not broadcast his bail party, would not be arrogant, would not help other people to escape, would not destroy evidence he probably will be joining the rest of the chevre in Otisville resort for few years of study.

I think he followed the I-Ching/ Igros hakodedh and I-Ching/Igros told him not to cooperate with the government

[Sarah]

Rubashkin legal team vow to fight conviction

For years Sholom Rubashkin made his living as an executive in the country’s largest kosher meatpacking company. Now to keep him out of prison, his defense team is arguing that the judge in his financial fraud case made treif use of federal sentencing guidelines.

http://chabad.info/index.php?url=article_en&id=19457

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

Mordecai,
I agree the sentence is too harsh. Our moderator has even written the sentence is too harsh. The judge assessed a few offense levels for perjury. But the bulk of the sentence was arrived at by pulling the applicable penalties out of the USSG. Have you ever heard of judges handing out rule book sentences to aggressive defendents who vowed to take any decision to an appeals court?

[effie]

If she was just going by the numbers she could have given him a lot more points and the high end of the sentence range instead of the lowest.

She used the guidelines in order to be consistent. I'm not sure where some of you got this idea that the Guidelines are no longer used. They are not mandatory but every judge still relies on them in order to have consistency in sentencing.

Have you ever heard of judges handing out rule book sentences to aggressive defendents who vowed to take any decision to an appeals court?

Yes.