Saving Sholom Rubashkin

“Nobody responsible has made the allegation” of anti-Semitism, lead Rubashkin attorney Lewin said. The prosecutors “are overzealous and [have] done things they should not have done…" But before the trial Rubashkin attorney Guy Cook compared life for Rubashkin in Postville to the Warsaw Ghetto under the Nazis, and pro-Rubashkin rabbinic leaders–like chief Rubashkin fundraiser Pinchos Lipschutz– continue to openly claim antisemitism, as they have been doing since Rubashkin's initial arrest in 2008.

Saving Sholom Rubashkin
By Michael Orbach • The Jewish Star

On Tuesday night, hours before a federal judge formally sentenced Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin, former manager of his family’s Agriprocessors meatpacking plant, to 27 years in prison, thousands gathered at a high school in Borough Park. The auditorium quickly filled and loudspeakers and video screens pumped a live feed of the event to crowds standing outside. The event was for men only. Several women sat demurely on plastic chairs at the side of the building.

“Once again, a Jew has been scapegoated,” Rabbi Pinchas Lipshitz, publisher of a Charedi newspaper and one of the organizers of the event, told the crowd.

The gathering was a prayer rally and a fundraiser for Rubashkin’s legal team. It seemed to acquire a terrible urgency after Judge Linda Reade released her sentencing memo a day early. Many of Rubashkin’s supporters considered their worst fears about the case to have come to pass. And even his sharpest critics largely agree that the punishment meted out in Iowa is far too harsh.

Earlier Tuesday, fliers with Rubashkin’s picture and a request for donations were plastered all over Borough Park. On Tuesday night images of Rubashkin and his family flashed on several large video screens accompanied by somber music. One picture that was replayed a number of times was of Rubashkin reaching out to high-five his autistic son.

Lipshitz narrated Rubashkin’s story as a Job-like parable. Satan, he explained, told G-d that the Jews were not united. To test his theory, Satan went to “Yehupitz” – Nowheresville – “You couldn’t find it on a map,” he said, referring to Postville, IA, where a federal raid took place in 2008 and 400 illegal employees were arrested in Rubashkin’s meatpacking plant. Rubashkin’s subsequent imprisonment and trial and the community’s reaction to it, Lipshitz explained, were the test.

“Baruch Hashem, we proved him wrong,” about not being united, Lipshitz said, gesturing to the thousands of chasidic men who applauded.

The speakers included many prominent rabbinical figures from Brooklyn and Monsey. They spoke in Yiddish, recited Tehillim, and lamented Rubashkin’s fate. The only flash of color on the podium came from Nathan Lewin, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney, who wore a blue shirt and a straw hat.

A federal jury found Rubashkin guilty of 86 counts of fraud, mainly relating to inflating his company’s accounts receivable in order to gain more credit on a loan from First Bank Business Capitol of Saint Louis. After the raid and the eventual Agriprocessor bankruptcy, the bank claimed it had lost $26 million. The government chose not to file immigration charges against Rubashkin and he was acquitted in a state case of 9100 violations of the child labor laws.

As it now stands, Rubashkin will spend the next 27 years in prison, two years longer than the sentence prosecutors had requested, before being released on a supervised probation. He will also be required to pay $26 million in restitution.

Rubashkin’s defense claimed the bank lost only $4.5 million. Lewin asserted that there was never “any effort on the part of Mr. Rubashkin to cheat the bank on its money,” and that Rubashkin paid the interest on time on all the loans.

“Ultimately the bank lost a large part of money because the business was driven into bankruptcy because of the raid,” Lewin said in a conference call after the sentencing was announced.

Judge Reade disregarded the defense arguments.

“The argument is based on conjecture and a definition of ‘loss’ so far removed from common sense… that the court declines to afford it any further consideration,” she wrote.

Rubashkin drew additional prison time for perjuring himself under oath and engaging in what federal guidelines regard as “sophisticated bank fraud.”

Critics accused the prosecution of being overly zealous. Earlier, prosecutors had sought a life sentence for Rubashkin but backed off after six former attorneys general sent letters of protest to the judge.

Citing the uncommon length of his sentence, Rubashkin’s defense plans an appeal. Lewin noted that a bank official in First Bank Business Capitol defrauded the bank for $32 million and was sentenced to one year behind bars. Guy Cook, another member of Rubashkin’s legal team, filed several requests for a mistrial but was refused. The defense was not allowed to challenge the immigration accusations that were mentioned in federal court. Lewin also said that character witnesses for Rubashkin were not allowed to testify.

“No matter Defendant’s motive, he defrauded the victim banks out of millions,” Judge Reade explained in her sentencing memorandum. “He unlawfully placed his family business’s interest above the victim banks’ interest. His family business and he personally benefited at the expense of all the victim banks’ innocent shareholders.”

In a letter released on Tuesday, the state’s attorney, Stephanie Rose said, “a concerted campaign emerged to paint prosecutors as racists, Nazis, and zealots.”

“Various interest groups and people evidently seeking personal notoriety have hijacked the true facts of this case for their own purposes,” she wrote. “It is impossible to address the mountain of false information that has found its way into the public arena. But the jury found the truth – that Rubashkin knowingly employed illegal workers and committed a $26 million bank fraud. He is a common criminal who committed uncommon crimes.”

Voices that had taken to describing the case against Rubashkin as anti-Semitic have been silenced.

“Nobody responsible has made the allegation” of anti-Semitism, Lewin said during a conference call with reporters. The prosecutors “are overzealous and [have] done things they should not have done – things that I have not experienced in 40 years of engaging in criminal defense law.”

Rabbi Dovid Zwiebel, executive vice president of Agudath Israel of America, issued a statement about the sentence calling it a “dark day for American justice.”

“It is a dark day, as well, for American Jewry,” he wrote. “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 spine. This is a horrifying development.”

Ben Brafman was not involved in the Rubashkin case, but when asked, the prominent criminal defense attorney offered his opinion that the sentence was too harsh, and suggested there would be strong grounds for appeal.

“In my opinion, a 27-year sentence in this particular case, with a non-violent crime and a first time offender is not only excessive, it is patently offensive,” he said. “This is a sad case with a very sad ending. The severity of the sentence, however, suggests to me that after appellate review this case will come back for further proceedings before a different judge who will hopefully impose a much more reasonable sentence, assuming of course that the conviction survives.”

The length of the sentence dismayed some of Rubashkin’s fiercest critics.

“I’m not happy with his sentence,” wrote Shmarya Rosenberg, the blogger behind Failed Messiah, a site that covered the story relentlessly, and very critically. “I find this terribly sad, and I’m not in any way rejoicing.”

Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, the founder and president of Uri L’Tzedek, the Orthodox social justice organization that led a boycott of Rubashkin products after the federal raid, said he also thought the sentence “sounded too high,” but the resulting outcry, he maintained, missed the point.

“There is a dangerous trend in our community to reduce the entire Agriprocessors affair to anti-Semitism and to ignore the sacred responsibility we have to address the real ethical crisis that exists in our community today,” Rabbi Yanklowitz said. “I worry that with all the focus on Sholom Rubashkin, we are losing sight of the larger moral picture: the thousands of workers who work in oppressive and unjust conditions to produce our kosher food.”

Stephan Bibas, professor of law and criminology, and director of the Supreme Court Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, said that the sentence was high but not “ridiculously so or unprecedented.”

“What’s driving this is a rather by-the-book application of the stiff white-collar sentences that were jacked up in the wake of Enron, WorldCom, and other corporate scandals of the last decade or so,” Bibas explained via email. “The $26 million figure drives this unless the judge looks for a way around it, and here she didn’t. Other judges would try to squint harder to reduce the foreseeability or intended loss – that can be an unclear and contestable issue. The Midwest is just a pretty conservative, by-the-book region when it comes to federal sentencing. Rejecting the pleas for mercy based on the sick kid and charitable works is pretty standard.”

Outside, on an early summer night in Borough Park, the air was rife with conspiracy theories and the belief that the sentence was a result of anti-Semitism. One protester held a poster with the phone number of the Iowa Attorney General and grumbled that people should call and complain.

“Mamash (literally), it’s like the Dreyfuss Affair all over again,” said a well-dressed woman who gave her first name as Rochel. The fact that Rubashkin was considered a flight risk because he could flee for Israel, she added, could be taken to mean that all Jews could be considered as flight risks.

Yossi Gestetner, a freelance writer and a public relations consultant in the charedi world said he didn’t feel the sentence was a result of anti-Semitism so much as of a collusion of forces against Rubashkin including PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), unions and the New York Times.

“Destroying an entity that produced food mostly for members of a religion, is something the Left loved to do since they hate religion,” he offered. “The weak spots in the US Justice system – and I know now there are too many – opened the door for the liberal agenda to plow forward, to take down Rubashkin.”

Gestetner said he had been among many individuals in Brooklyn collecting for Rubashkin. On the day of the sentencing alone, he said, he had raised $5000.

Lipshitz, who spoke to Rubashkin on the day of the sentencing, described him as undaunted.

“He’s full of Bitachon (faith),” Lipshitz said. “He’s not going to be broken. Not him, nor his family, nor his community – no matter how hard they try.”

So far, Lipshitz said, $1 million dollars had been raised for Rubashkin. During his remarks he told of receiving checks from schoolchildren and elderly grandmothers, one, a 90-year-old woman who had seen her own grandmother killed in a pogrom. Lipshitz quoted her as saying, “My grandmother was killed in a blood libel, how could I sit quietly by?”

Comments

[sage]

There is nothing that will save SMR, save his personal apology and restitution to ALL THOSE whom he stole from, and true repentance and teshuvah.

[jerry]

Rubashkin attorney Guy Cook compared life for Rubashkin in Postville to the Warsaw Ghetto under the Nazis

this disgusting sort of talk diminishes the Nazi crimes and the memory of the victims

[The Lip]

The Achdus created sans this blog is very heartening. Hopefully, it will be a harbinger of the coming of the successful messiah.

[Mr. Apikoros]

I blame the government for not trying Rubashkin on the serious charges, namely, the immigration violations and the abuse of his workers (and cattle). Had he been tried and convicted on those charges, he would have received 27+ years in jail, and the bank fraud charges would have just been an afterthought.

Then, we wouldn't have the bellyaching from the so-called "yidden" who claim that Rubashkin was unfairly sentenced, that this was a blood libel against Jews, another Dreyfus Affair, Rubashkin is a victim of Nazi persecution, etc.

No, this wasn't another Dreyfus Affair. Dreyfus was a loyal French officer who was totally innocent and who was framed. Rubashkin is guilty as hell, and the "victim" only of the government's laziness.

I find the kvetching by the Hasidic scum to be even more repellant than anything Rubashkin did. Get over it, frumbags. Your boychik is a common criminal, just as are many of the rest of you.

[Yosef ben Matitya]

in typical chutzpah of 'otah kat', they are picking a spiteful fight with the u.s. state to vindicate the hide of one crook of theirs, while reaching out to the turkish government of erdogan. the putin love excercise of r' lazar this time played by r' shem tov of d.c.

[Yosef ben Matitya]

out to bring moschiach:
a- http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/turks-and-jews-mend-fences-in-washington-1.297323
b- attacking the u.s. and embracing turkey!
(probably deceiptfully)

[Dovy]

>Lipshitz quoted her as saying, “My grandmother was killed in a blood libel, how could I sit quietly by?”<

Barf!!!

[Bill]

Good luck with that, Lewin.

That bell (anti-Semitism!) will never be unrung.

[jerry]

and....what´s the stress ?

with good behaviour he is out in 5 yrs on probation

[sage]

There is no probation in the Federal Prison System.

[jow]

in federal prison there is no early release which means you have to serve the full prison term.

[Mr. Apikoros]

If Sholom Rubashkin needs to be saved, let Jesus save him.

[effie]

For inmates over a certain age and who have served 10 years or more, they can be released 6 months early.

[The Real Joe]

Why do these's guys get off basically scott free http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/judge_rules_hucksters_permanently_ahPPxEVrVEHlimCcLjlQ4I

[justice seeker]

Dear Sage: I enjoy your posts. I don't think that ROBBYA Rubashkin will either repent or pay restitution. I wonder if the old man has him sitting in the pen because that where he is worth more money via fund raising. Maybe Poppa is angry at SMR for getting into the till to the tune of $1.5 million over the past few years, and screwing up a good scam.

[Dr Moe]

I don't think that ROBBYA Rubashkin will either repent or pay restitution

SHAME SHAME SHAME on ICE for the raid on IMMIGRATION issues which made Rubashkin not be able to pay the bank plus interest.

Sholom is right the ones who need to cry are ICE and the DA for not allowing him to continue to pay the bank.

[sage]

+++Posted by: justice seeker | June 24, 2010 at 12:55 PM +++

Thanks, JS.

I enjoy yours, too.

[Cheskel]

Dr. Moe, i thought you smarter.

No one cares if the bank was repaid or the cattle dealer. They rather have the Jew (per the church in Iowa) in prison then anything else.

[Eliezer]

Not that long ago, the goyim would spit on Jews and the Jews, in order to avoid picking a fight, would pretend that it's raining.

Nowadays, whenever it rains, the Jews complain that the goyim are spitting on us.

Whatever will we do when the real storm comes up?

This is the same attitude that Israel and many of its supporters have, by the way. I wonder if there is a mental connection.

[Mr. Apikoros]

Sure, this was all anti-Semitism. All those Nazis in Iowa; you'd think it was Argentina North.

The real tragedy here goes far beyond Rubashkin. It's all these Haredi swine who are standing up for a despicable criminal. Even John Gotti didn't have as much support; not even close.

[state of disgust]

Mr. Apikoros:
That's because Zweibel, Lipshitz and Lewin are all such honorable men.

[neighbor girl]

I still haven't found the answer to two questions:
1. What happened to the child labor charges against Elizabeth Billmeyer, HR workers Laura Althouse, Karina Freund, and beef supervisor Jeff Heasley?
2. Why was Billmeyer's federal sentence cut from 12 months and a day to eight months?

[lou]

probably because elizabeth LIED on the stand and ratted out someone else--funny how somethings work--she knew everything!!

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

NG:
This post discusses what happened to the other defendants:

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2010/06/moral-stakes-in-rubashkin-case-were-high-both-sides-say-456.html

[critical_minyan]

Nat Lewin's client got 27 years in jail, mostly because of his aggressive, combative stance, that was built on mistruths and falsehoods. The judge looked at his strategy and basically was so mad she gave Rubashkin more than the prosecutors asked for.
Now, shamelessly, Nat Lewin is fundraising for Rubashkin's defense fund, AKA his legal fees, by claiming anti-semitism when he is front of a Haredi crowd, but is careful not to be to critical of the justice department.
He is shameful. A shandeh. A lowlife. Dreck.

[BPHocker]

Nat Lewin has gone see-frikkin-nile. He claims Screwbashkin paid the loan on time? DUH, with more money that he stole!

[Dr Moe]

with more money that he stole!

Rubashkin did not steal a penny from anyone nor was he ever convicted for stealing a penny, also he used $800'000 to remodel his home and that was a Business expense since he had to entertain business executives.

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

Business entertainment at the remodeled house:

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2008/11/
rubashkin-makes.html

[Shmarya]

Rubashkin did not steal a penny from anyone nor was he ever convicted for stealing a penny, also he used $800'000 to remodel his home and that was a Business expense since he had to entertain business executives.

He took $1.5 million from the company for his personal use.

There are ways for companies to pay for employees' personal items, be they cars or even homes.

But those items paid for by a company must be declared as INCOME by the employee.

Sometimes this means 100% of the item is income and other times a lesser amount is income.

Rubashkin took $1.5 million and did not declare any of it as income.

And that means he STOLE at the very least $750,000.

[R]

Dr Moe, do i detect a hint of sarcasm?

I wish people would stop collecting all this money for someone's lawyer fund. I wish they were so forth coming in giving over their money to much worthier causes.
It makes me want to throw up.

Will they also stop with the anti semitic/nazi/pogrom card. It's getting rather old and it defiles the memories of those that suffered in those periods of history.
Funny how no one brings up the Spanish Inquisition....

[Bill]

Rubashkin looks terrible in the above-captioned picture.

If he weren't a Haredi, I would have felt terrible for him.

[WoolSilkCotton]

http://www.businessballs.com/elisabeth_kubler_ross_
five_stages_of_grief.htm

Dr. Moe is still stuck in Stages 1 and 2 of the Grieving Process. He needs a little more time. Meanwhile, he will continue to rant the same idiotic crap and lies pumped into him by the 770 crowd.

Cheskel is squarely in Stage 2, with hints of moving along to Stage 3.

What complicates Moe's and Cheskel's progress is their lack of reading and language comprehesion, due to not having any formal education in reading and writing English.
Both of them will need a few more weeks to reach Stage 5.

We need to be patient with them.

[Isa]

Do you think the one million for the legal fund is ALL going to the lawyers?

HELL NO!

Fees for the administrator
Fees for office help
Fees for the administrative group [Chabad]
Fees for this, that and everything else

[Jose Gonzalez]

The one thing that will save Rabbi Rubashkin is the truth. Once the appeal starts, it will be clear all the violations against committed by the Judge.

Rabbi Rubashkin will walk free with his head up, and his enemies will tremble. The insipid lies published by The Forward will be evident to everyone, and all the apikoros will revolt in their hate.

MORRIS APOLOGIZE!

[Jose Gonzalez]

Actually, G-d will save Rabbi Rubashkin!

[Sarah]

"Rubashkin took $1.5 million and did not declare any of it as income. And that means he STOLE at the very least $750,000."

Shmarya, WAS HE CONVICTED OF THEIS? or is it just more convenient to charge him on inflating invoices (not stealing a penny!!! but still not legal) and SENTANCE him on all the governments fanaticize - which do not need to be substantiated or proven...

What a joke. the government painted a picture of a world class mob boss, one of the worst people on earth, then, all they can prove in court is that he slightly inflated invoices - with absolutely NO intention of not paying every penny of the loan + interest ON TIME...

[Shmarya]

Rabbi Rubashkin will walk free with his head up, and his enemies will tremble. The insipid lies published by The Forward will be evident to everyone, and all the apikoros will revolt in their hate.

The most that could possibly happen is a retrial, and that is extremely unlikely.

Less than 6% of appellants win their appeals.

MORRIS APOLOGIZE!

And when are YOU going to apologize for all the lies you've told about him?

• We know with absolute certainty kids worked in Agriprocessors – Rubashkin's defense even agreed to it, and Agriprocessors pleaded guilty to knowingly employing kids.

• We know Sholom Rubashkin claimed that his brother Heshy was responsible for HR and therefore for the minors, and that Aaron knew illegals were employed and didn't care.

• We know Sholom got HUNDREDS of federal no match letters that show that HUNDREDS of Agriprocessors employees used false documents and IDs to get hired, and Sholom did nothing to fix that situation.

Don't you and your friends owe Rabbi Allen an apology?

[Shmarya]

"Rubashkin took $1.5 million and did not declare any of it as income. And that means he STOLE at the very least $750,000."

Shmarya, WAS HE CONVICTED OF THEIS? or is it just more convenient to charge him on inflating invoices (not stealing a penny!!! but still not legal) and SENTANCE him on all the governments fanaticize - which do not need to be substantiated or proven...

The theft was part of the federal trial where evidence was presented.

Sholom's explanation is that all the money was used to do the things the government said, but those things were for the company's benefit.

But the law mandates certain things with regard to payments like this, and Sholom did none of those mandated things.

And his claims of company benefit – even if taken at face value – mean he still stole at least $750,000 (from the company but really from the bank).

What a joke. the government painted a picture of a world class mob boss, one of the worst people on earth, then, all they can prove in court is that he slightly inflated invoices - with absolutely NO intention of not paying every penny of the loan + interest ON TIME...

No.

What the government proved is that Sholom defrauded the bank and deprived other borrowers of that money, as he cheated the banks shareholders.

Past that, if the feds wanted to, they could indict and prosecute Sholom on dozens of other crimes, including obstruction of justice bribing a public official, tampering with witnesses and evidence, election fraud,perjury, etc.

But many of these crimes are subsumed within the fraud charges, and federal law allows the judge to consider all of those crimes, even if not charged, in issuing a sentence.

As the judge noted in her sentencing memorandum, she chose not to do that and add to Sholom's sentence, with the exception of the perjury he committed at trial, which added about 2 years to his sentence.

I suggest you take some time to read what the judge wrote and to study the federal sentencing guidelines.

[WoolSilkCotton]

Jose, Sarah, Moe, blah blah blah,
Your hero was already convicted and sentenced. It's over.
Repeated all your silly distortions will not change anything.
SMR was just a neighborhood big shot and a crook who got too greedy.
It's over. Stop wasting your energy repeating the same stupid shit over and over and over and over.

G-d hates criminals, especially those who drag his Name into the mud. G-d hates the Rubashkins as a result.

[Jose Gonzalez]

>> Less than 6% of appellants win their appeals.

Janet Reno, and others wrote to the Judge appealing for Rabbi Rubashkin. All had one message to her: "You are being unfair."

Asking Jurors to step out before defense called witnesses
Working with the prosecution to incriminate Rabbi Rubashkin.
Using the immigration case in the money case
The overwhelming support from the Jewish community: the most prestigious Rabbis, Senators, former District attorneys, etc.
.... and more ....

I will not be surprised if Linda is forced to retire early after the appeal is finished.

[Shmarya]

Janet Reno, and others wrote to the Judge appealing for Rabbi Rubashkin. All had one message to her: "You are being unfair."

1. Asking Jurors to step out before defense called witnesses
2. Working with the prosecution to incriminate Rabbi Rubashkin.
3. Using the immigration case in the money case
4. The overwhelming support from the Jewish community: the most prestigious Rabbis, Senators, former District attorneys, etc.
5. .... and more ....

You are so ignorant it would be funny if it wasn't so sad.

1. IF the appeals court agrees overturns convictions, those cases are re-tried, usually before the same judge.

2. The immigration and money cases were originally one case. RUBASHKIN asked to separate the cases in part because his attorneys knew the evidence for the immigration case was exceedingly strong, and they felt immigration evidence would prejudice the jury against Rubashkin in the financial charges, which also had strong evidence but carried far longer sentences than the immigration charges.

But part of the financial charges is that Rubashkin lied to the bank when he told them his business was following the law. Because of that limited evidence of immigration violations was allowed in evidence.

Past that, the government could have objected to breaking up the case. It could also have tried the immigration charges first if it chose to, and then those convictions could have been introduced into evidence in the financial trial.

Even if an appeals court thinks the limited immigration evidence should not have been introduced in the financial trial, the most that will happen is a re-trial, and most likely only some of the convictions would be overturned.

3. If that happens the feds have th eoption of trying the immigration cases, and also charging him for perjury, obstruction of justice, election fraud, witness tampering, etc., etc, etc.

4. Jewish communal support for Rubashkin totally irrelevant. Was John Gotti's widespread support in his community relevant? No.

I will not be surprised if Linda is forced to retire early after the appeal is finished.

No one can "force" a sitting federal judge to retire early.

If actionable offenses are committed, a judge could be impeached – but that is extremely unlikely, especially because no expert of any quality have said anything she did was illegal or unethical.

It is far more likely more Rubashkins will be indicted, tried and convicted.

[state of disgust]

"G-d hates the Rubashkins as a result."

and is punishing him for his crimes.

[WoolSilkCotton]

Poor Jose. Still stuck in Stage 1. Allow him a few more days.

[Sarah]

Shmarya,

So why were your good friends unable (- to your great, deep disappointment -) and failed to convict him on ANYTHING besides for inflating invoices?

Since you have all the proof in the world, showing without a shadow of a doubt that Sholom Rubashkin is the evil man you and your cohorts paint him as, how come the most you were able to achieve is to destroy him in the press and the eyes of the public, leading President Bush to use him as an easy target to ease the pressure on him (Bush) to deal with illegal immigration – to use Rubashin as a easy Korbon to look good to his people…

The press/media destroyd his name, thereby enabling the honorable prosecutors to pile on. Charge him for bank froad and “pile on” all sorts of allegations. The judge sentences him for this all. Wow, what a wonderful country and system of justice. All to make a name for themselves. (forward (anti religious), conservative hechser, peta, HICKVILL prosecutors seeking a prominent role on the national scene, and a judge who enjoys sentencing most/all of her “subjects” to the maximum she can get away with and explain away… (one way to describe it is sadism)

[Sarah]

Shmarya, Rubashkin was never convicted for tax evasion. Yes there was a sideshow about this, but was he convicted by his peers on these allegations?????

According to your logic, he was also convicted of harboring illegal’s, since it was discuses at trial. (even though the Judge stated that bringing it in would jeopardize a fair trial on bank fraud – before she changed her mind…).

[Sarah]

Wool,
Dovid Hamelech declared that a Jew who doesn’t posses the character of Rachmonus – even on someone who wronged YOU – there is a serious question about his kosher Jewishness.

Following the deep seeded hatred you have for Rubashkin, and most frum yiden you portray in your ‘elegant’, ‘enlightened’, thoughtful, intelligent comments…. Vd”l

[Shmarya]

So why were your good friends unable (- to your great, deep disappointment -) and failed to convict him on ANYTHING besides for inflating invoices?…Shmarya, Rubashkin was never convicted for tax evasion. Yes there was a sideshow about this, but was he convicted by his peers on these allegations?????

Again, Rubashkin was convicted of 86 counts: bank fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and failing to pay cattle dealers.

The other related charges – obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, perjury, bribing a public official, tax charges, etc. – are SUBSUMED in the financial convictions.

Under US law, the judge can consider these crimes and add them in to the criminal's sentence for the crimes he was convicted on.

As I clearly noted above, the judge declined to do this, except for the perjury Rubashkin committed in her court. But she reserved the right to do so at a later date, if the sentence is sent back by the appellate court for re-sentencing.

In the same way, the Justice Department has the right to prosecute Rubashkin for any of these crimes.

The reason it has not yet done so is because doing it would put Sholom away for more than 100 years. In other words, there is no benefit to the government for conduction these trials because Rubashkin already will be in prison for more than two decades. Trying those additional cases is not worth it.

But it can change its mind and prosecute at any time for any or no reason.

According to your logic, he was also convicted of harboring illegal’s, since it was discuses at trial. (even though the Judge stated that bringing it in would jeopardize a fair trial on bank fraud – before she changed her mind…).

The judge agreed that trying all the charges together would be too complicated for the jury.

Again, part of the bank fraud was Rubashkin's false claim that his business was following the law.

The judge never said immigration evidence would not be allowed in the financial fraud case.

[wheel will turn]

Shmaryahu, like every drama...the cards will turn. You had a very strong position in this terrible tragedy. After years of being one of their shnurers that they cared for..you went on the other side. Are thou not afraid for the turning of the wheel?

[Shmarya]

hmaryahu, like every drama...the cards will turn. You had a very strong position in this terrible tragedy. After years of being one of their shnurers that they cared for..you went on the other side. Are thou not afraid for the turning of the wheel?

I never took a dime from Sholom Rubashkin or his family.

Past that, and past your lie, yes, the wheel may turn, and that turning wheel may see additional Rubashkin family members convicted and imprisoned.

Keep that in mind.

[Jose Gonzalez]

>> If actionable offenses are committed, a judge could be impeached

I wonder! The judge was working with the prosecutors giving them advise on how to destroy Rabbi Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin. I bet that she will be get the fury from all her colleagues. All her cases will be overturn. Yes. She might end-up receiving a letter from many asking her to do the right thing; hang the robes baby!

Believe me when I tell you that the support that Rabbi Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin will have during the appeal will be so overwhelming that the Judge Reade will be sweating. Every detail of her case will be checked, and when the lawyers present the evidence on how she was secretly meeting with the prosecutors to advise them on how to proceed. Boy! Is she going to be sweating!?

[effie]

Shmarya, So why were your good friends unable (- to your great, deep disappointment -) and failed to convict him on ANYTHING besides for inflating invoices? Posted by: Sarah | June 24, 2010 at 09:06 PM

Why, Sarah? Isn't 27 years long enough for you?

"Shmarya, Rubashkin was never convicted for tax evasion.Posted by: Sarah | June 24, 2010 at 09:10 PM"

They have plenty of time to do so.

[Shmarya]

I wonder! The judge was working with the prosecutors giving them advise on how to destroy Rabbi Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin. I bet that she will be get the fury from all her colleagues. All her cases will be overturn. Yes. She might end-up receiving a letter from many asking her to do the right thing; hang the robes baby!

She did not work "with the prosecutors giving them advise on how to destroy Rabbi Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin."

You need serious mental health care. Seek help.

[effie]

"I will not be surprised if Linda is forced to retire early after the appeal is finished.
Posted by: Jose Gonzalez | June 24, 2010 at 08:39 PM"

She's a federal judge and has a lifetime appointment. It's so dorks like you can't force judges into retirement because they made unpopular decisions.

[Abracadabra]

Shmarya, I must commend you on your diligence, thoroughness and EXTRAORDINARY patience in answering every one of these loonies who thinks that just because he is part of a big club of loonies, they know what they are talking about.

And yet you answer each one, repeating the facts over and over again. Each time answering their falacies so they can possibly comprehend, as if they wanted to, what really happened, as opposed to the propoganda and lies that the SMR PR drama machine feeds them.

I must say - you're doing a great job.

[Abracadabra]

Mr Apikores -

Had he been tried and convicted on those charges, he would have received 27+ years in jail, and the bank fraud charges would have just been an afterthought.
Then, we wouldn't have the bellyaching from the so-called "yidden" who claim that Rubashkin was unfairly sentenced, that this was a blood libel against Jews, another Dreyfus Affair, Rubashkin is a victim of Nazi persecution, etc.

I disagree.

They would have claimed that he was unfairly sentenced, etc etc NO MATTER WHAT he was found guilty of.

First of all - there is a HUGE PR campaign being funded (either by his family or by the "pidyon shevuyim" tzedakah money, or both). This PR campaign is being brilliantly orchestrated to manipulate the frum masses into believing the lies and half-truths that they are feeding "the oiylam". These are PR professionals. They do this for a living and they are doing a great job with all the propoganda and the PR.

Secondly, these people who scream "Anti-Semitism, Blood Libel, etc" have already made up their minds, and will refuse to be confused by any facts. Even if Rubashkin were found guilty of child labor they still would have screamed "Blood Libel, Nazis, Anti-Semites" etc.

Also, it's part of the PR campaign that is riling up the masses to believe the lies they propogate.

[WoolSilkCotton]

Sarah, didn't King David murder people, including 'fellow yidden', who stood in the way of his political ambitions?
Didn't he murder 'fellow yidden' and others who were married to women he wanted to boff?

[Yosef ben Matitya]

This PR campaign .....are doing a great job with all the propoganda and the PR.
...these people ....have already made up their minds, and will refuse to be confused by any facts. ... "Blood Libel, Nazis, Anti-Semites" etc.
So true Abracadabra, the Haredim actually need the antisemites. Halakho: Eisav soyneh le Yaakov.

[yidandahalf]

effie needs to be commended as well for his observations, clarifications, and all around explaining of the legal stuff. Extremely well done and necessary.