Nathan Lewin Pledges That Rubashkin Case Will Not Die

The attorney for the kosher meatpacker who stole millions of dollars from his lenders, employed hundreds and hundreds of undocumented workers, and who was convicted on 86 counts of fraud calls the United States Supreme Court's refusal to take Sholom Rubashkin's case "the greatest injustice that I have seen in more than 50 years of law practice" – even though his client has never shown remorse, hid his assets, refused to make restitution, refused to cooperate with federal investigators, committed multiple counts of perjury, helped at least one witness against him flee the country, obstructed justice while released on bail, and allegedly bribed a public official.

Nathan Lewin

Does Sholom Rubashkin deserve a 27 year prison sentence?

The answer is complex.

The United States Sentencing Commission's Guidelines call for a 22 to 30 year sentence for Rubashkin's frauds. (That is based primarily on the amount of loss to his lenders and the fact that Rubashkin headed a conspiracy, not on the number of counts – 86 – he was convicted on.)

So, yes, on the basic level of doing time for the crimes committed, Rubashkin deserves those 27 years in prison.

But those sentencing guidelines are, I think, unjust. They over-penalize for crimes like Rubashkin's, and lead to incredibly long sentences.

The problem for Rubashkin is that his legal team – led for the appellate process by Nathan Lewin – and his legal defense/pidyon shvuyim fund steadfastly refused to raise the sentencing guidelines as an issue.

Why?

They preferred to tell a fabricated story of "discrimination," or "antisemitism" because, I think, they believed it raise much more money that the truth would.

This week, the United States Supreme Court has refused to hear Rubashkin's case.

The Jewish Press quotes Lewin on that Supreme Court decision:

The Supreme Court’s refusal to consider the Rubashkin case – which is the greatest injustice that I have seen in more than 50 years of law practice – was very distressing. But the legal battle is not over. There are, in American legal history, a few famous cases “that will not die.” The Rubashkin case is in that league. The Torah teaches that tzedek does not come easily; it must be pursued. Even at this juncture, there are legal avenues for overturning a fundamentally unfair trial.

Rubashkin basically has one more appeal he can make. It is called a 2255 petition, which is described by Alan Ellis and James H. Feldman, Jr. this way:

…The motion to vacate, set aside or correct a sentence provided by 28 U.S.C. §2255 is a modern descendant of the common law petition for a writ of habeas corpus. It is available only to people convicted in federal courts who are in custody.…The §2255 motion is the postconviction tool most federal prisoners turn to after they have exhausted their appeals. When it is used effectively, it can be a powerful tool to right injustices that were not or could not have been raised on direct appeal. This is because it gives courts broad discretion in fashioning appropriate relief, including dismissal of all charges and release of the prisoner, retrial, or resentencing.…

Section 2255 provides that "prisoners" may move for relief "on the ground that the sentence was imposed in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States, or that the court was without jurisdiction to impose such sentence, or that the sentence was in excess of the maximum authorized by law, or is otherwise subject to collateral attack.”…Most §2255 motions allege violations of the defendant's Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel.…

In Rubashkin's case, that would probably mean that Rubashkin would have to claim that his attorneys were incompetent and made serious errors, most probably his trial counsels' decision not to ask Judge Reade to recuse herself before the trial began.

(Rubashkin and his attorneys knew that another defendant had already asked for the same thing on the same basis Rubashkin would have asked – the judge's role in planning the remote-location courthouse logistics with ICE and the US Attorney's office before the Agriprocessors immigration raid took place – and had been turned down by Reade, and they chose not to make the same request.)

A 2255 motion on those grounds would almost certainly fail for the same reasons Rubashkin's appeals failed.

But it should be expected that a prisoner will take any chance that exists to gain his freedom, and as long as Rubashkin can afford to do it, he will.

The sad truth is that the worst actor among all of Rubashkin's attorneys has probably been Lewin, but the nature of the legal process makes it difficult for Rubashkin make that claim.

And that's too bad, because I think there are a lot of critics of Agriprocessors and the Rubashkins who would be more than glad to file amicus briefs and testify in court to Lewin's corrosive and often vile role in what became Sholom Rubashkin's dramatic fall.

Comments

[Wigmore]

This 2255 motion will be like giving CPR to a corpse.

[Yochanan Lavie]

Is that why Rubashkin used a hook (which is tzar baal chayim and suffak neveilah) as well as a knife to kill cattle? Because they wouldn't die?

[John Nagle, Silicon Valley, CA]

Wait, he's making a 2255 motion using the same lawyer used for the appeal? The usual argument in a 2255 motion is that the original counsel was incompetent. (This generally involves prisoners who had some appointed counsel or public defender who didn't do a good job.) Making a 2255 motion with the same lawyer makes little sense.

[Maskil]

... the kosher meatpacker who stole millions of dollars from his lenders...

Oh, come on, Shmarya, you know that his accounting practices were industry standard and that everyone in the industry settles their accounts that way because it's the only funcional way, and that had there not been a big goddamn federal raid everyone would have been paid back. But the Fed had to stifle him if they were going to "get" him for anything, as we see he's in jail for fraud not the other stuff, so they rigged the whole raid with the high-profile etc. to make sure he went down for something (even if the public image is that he went down for something else). Just admit that it was industry standard rather than Aron Rubashkin thuggery or something unique to him, and that he's sitting 27 years for that and not the child labor. Are you capable of doing that?

[Shmarya]

Oh, come on, Shmarya, you know that his accounting practices were industry standard and that everyone in the industry settles their accounts that way because it's the only funcional way, and that had there not been a big goddamn federal raid everyone would have been paid back. But the Fed had to stifle him if they were going to "get" him for anything, as we see he's in jail for fraud not the other stuff, so they rigged the whole raid with the high-profile etc. to make sure he went down for something (even if the public image is that he went down for something else). Just admit that it was industry standard rather than Aron Rubashkin thuggery or something unique to him, and that he's sitting 27 years for that and not the child labor. Are you capable of doing that?

Posted by: Maskil | October 04, 2012 at 01:32 PM

Please.

Rubashkin was already having trouble making his payments BEFORE the raid.

What he did is NOT "industry standard" and "everyone" did not and does not operate that way.

Not only that, but to lie as you are doing, to claim that money laundering through religious charities is "industry standard" is disgusting.

You are sick person. Don't waste your time here posting your delusion BS. Go to a shrink and try to get what's left of your mind healed.

[rebeljew]

Lewin will argue this case to Rubashkin's last dollar (or the ability of the case to draw cash from donors).

[Shmarya]

Lewin will argue this case to Rubashkin's last dollar (or the ability of the case to draw cash from donors).

Posted by: rebeljew | October 04, 2012 at 01:45 PM

I don't think Lewin is doing this for the money. I think he's doing it to "protect" shechita in the same way that haredim are suing NYC to "protect" MBP and circumcision.

Remember that Lewin's father was a pro-shechita activist who fought anti-shechita laws imposed by the Nazis and Nazi collaborators, and who fought to protect shechita in the US. (He did this in part by using cooked scientific books to make shechita look far more humane than it usually was in commercial settings. Take a pristine animal, the best schochet available, the best conditions possible, and then use the result as if commercial shechita is the same thing when most often it is not.)

For Lewin, this is a misguided "holy" mission – and it has done more to damage shechita than almost anything else in the last half century.

[Sarek]

"the greatest injustice that I have seen in more than 50 years of law practice"

Great lawyerly hyperbole. This gonif (and more) got what he deserved. I shed no tears.

Expect more motions & lawsuits in the future: not enough access to kosher meals, no prayer space, not allowed to practice his religion as he is used to, etc. etc.

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

++I don't think Lewin is doing this for the money.++

Shmarya, please.

Money i$ the only rea$on he's doing thi$. Thi$ i$ not any kind of holy mi$$ion.
Have any of Ruba$hkin'$ bill$ been torn up and thrown away by the bookkeeper in Lewin'$ office?
If the bill$ aren't getting paid each month, you will $ee the ca$e $uddenly come to a clo$e.

[WoolSilkCotton]

Another Chabad scam:

http://www.crownheights.info/index.php?itemid=47362

[Simple Jew]

B"H

Shmarya -- why do you continue to allow Max to post a pointless and meaningless statement multiple times?

[WoolSilkCotton]

Simple Jew, I think Max's BaaBaaabooey is delightfully refreshing, and makes more sense than anything you post.

[seymour]

They preferred to tell a fabricated story of "discrimination," or "antisemitism" because, I think, they believed it raise much more money that the truth would.

maybe not.

I think that is the only way many Orthodox people can think.

They do not look, care, about the bigger picture or others. To them this was never about the usa justice system, harsh sentencing or whatever.

to them, is was about one thing a black hat is in prison guilty or not makes no difference to them. and that could mean only one think antisemitism.

the same was with the Japanese boys. it was all about a black hat smugglers was in jail, and they did not care or want to know that In japan they have harsh sentencing for drugs. Why, they do not care about others

that is why I thing to bring up the sentencing guidelines, simply is not an option. They have no problem with harsh sentencing they just feel Orthodox should be exempt, since any and all cases are antisemitism

when is the last time we heard from frum leaders about a frum convict, well he did do the crime? I never did, did any of you?

[Darth Zeidah]

Oh, come on, Shmarya, you know that his accounting practices were industry standard and that everyone in the industry settles their accounts that way because it's the only funcional way

Are you telling us, Maskil that theft, fraud and embezzlement are "industry standard"? Because if they are then they are a potent prescription for anti-Semitism.

ne Shylock was sufficient, thank you.

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

Shades of LIRR shooter Colin Ferguson. The judicial system didn't want to hear insanity; Ferguson's earliest possible parole date is August 6, 2309. I don't think any court is going to buy that Lewin or any of his attorneys is incompetent or nuts. They are not going to let Rubashkin get away with this one.

[rebeljew]

Shmarya

Why then were they running packed house fund raisers to pay him? It is at least partially a motive.

It reminds of the old joke that a man runs around the shul desperately collecting for a poor widow who will lose her home and be out in the freezing street in 24 hours with her several small children. The shul yid asks the man "how are you related to her?". "I am not" he replies, "I am her landlord."

[Abracadabra]

Shmarya, which court hears or decides on the 2255? Is it a court in Iowa?

I wonder how many millions they will try to bribe the 2255 judge(s) with. I wonder how many harrassing letters and phone calls the 2255 judge(s) will get once the pro-SMR team sees the judge(s) can't be bought.

Can any lawyers weigh in on this - how much chance does this have? Norm?

[Sol]

The problem is not the competence of the attorneys. It is the unwillingness of Rubashkin to accept that he did anything wrong. He turned down a plea of 10 years and forced his attorneys to go to trial. At least the Spinka stood up and admitted his crime, even if it was only a ruse to get a lighter sentence.

[effie]

"Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin yelling Baabaaboooey!"

~~ H. L. Mencken

[Pagan]

The Rubashkin case will not die as long as there are deluded schmucks willing to give yet more money for his totally incompetent legal team to waste on nonsense like this.

[Joe Field]

Posted by: Abracadabra | October 04, 2012 at 04:56 PM

lol

[dh]

Yes, right Abra. I've always felt they use the same PR firm as BP.

They have been so absent opportunity to sensibly view either their own closed world or any other contemporary world that their profound ignorance combined with lack of empathy renders nuance unachievable. They don't know how to effectively bully them dang folks in Iowa or even back in suburbia where residents are fighting back. The landscape is changing and they don't possess the skill set to know how to pick the person who could conceiveably explain it to them.

[simple jew]

B"H

I dont know if it is standard indutry acct to be A FEW DAYS paying for cattle but I do know that is NOT worthy of jail time.

I think if Shmarya or anyone had proof to the contrary they would produce it.

G-d willing this overall generally very down to earth decent fellow will get out sooner than later.

[Shmarya]

Posted by: simple jew | October 04, 2012 at 09:06 PM

Are you so mentally and emotionally challenged that you can't read?

The law FORBIDS being late at all because once the cow is killed and processed, there isn't any way for a cattle grower to prove how much that cow actually weighed and how much the processor owes him, and because there is no way to repossess the cow.

Cattle must be paid for immediately.

So it is not the "industry standard" to illegally withhold payment like Rubashkin did.

Past that, as I clearly noted, Rubashkin used his withholding of those payments as part of his bank fraud, which is why it was charged and prosecuted.

But he wasn't sentenced to any actual prison time for the cattle fraud alone.

You need serious mental health counseling.

[Joe Field]

Posted by: simple jew | October 04, 2012 at 09:06 PM

Undeniably you are a simpleton, If I am not mistaken SMR didn’t get any jail time for not paying late the cattle suppliers.

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

Even if Lewin is not doing this for the money, someone is bound to mount more fund raising campaigns. For those people approached and found this website to see if this is a worthy cause or not, I am hereby ripping off the first three of the 10 tips for charitable giving prepared by the New York State Attorney General's Office:

10 TIPS FOR CHARITABLE GIVING

1. Confirm That the Charity is Registered With the Attorney General’s Office. Search the Attorney General’s Charities Bureau Registry at www.charitiesnys.com to see if the charity is properly registered and has filed its financial reports with the Attorney General.

2. Know Where Your Money Will Go. Find out from the charity what it will do with your money. Review the charity’s financial reports for information about how it spends donations. If you have been contacted by a telemarketer, review Pennies for Charity, the New York Attorney General’s annual report of telemarketing campaigns in New York, to see how much is spent on fundraising costs and how much has been kept by the charity. Pennies for Charity is available at www.charitiesnys.com.

3. Don’t Be Pressured by Telemarketers. If you receive a telephone call asking you to contribute to a charity, you have the right to hang up. Often the caller is a professional fundraiser who is being paid to call you. If you choose not to end the call, ask how much of your donation will go to charity and how much the telemarketer is being paid. Many telemarketers receive most of the money they raise. Be wary of claims such as “all proceeds will go to charity.” Telemarketers are required to respond truthfully to your questions. Don’t fall for pressure tactics such as repeated phone calls, or threats. These are signs that the organization may not be legitimate.

[Korbendallas72]

He'll die in prison.

[Sarah]

I wonder what his billing per hour is.... must be
at least $200.
Get ready good people in Brooklyn.....
There will be a special donation request coming up.

[bessie berelowitz]

the LEWIN'S THE GREATEST LAW FIRM IN THE LAND,lets all bend the knee and cry out in exaltation at their greatness. for indeed to raise the fees they do they are indeed by american standards the jewish equal of the KARDOSHIANS.Mohey is all.

[WoolSilkCotton]

Sarah, an ordinary lawyer in NJ charges $350 per hour.
Lewin is probably in the 600+ per hour range.

[nachos]

Posted by: simple jew | October 04, 2012 at 09:06 PM

As somebody that depended on getting those checks on time, I am offended. My bank and feed mill gets a bit upset when I don't pay them on time.

The Rubashkin's are dishonest people plai9n and simple. They don't beleive in G-d or fear him. Their G-d is money and that is why the hashem has punished them in this way.

Simple Jew, please stop commented on stuff you have no idea about. The Rubashkins created a tremendous amount of antisemitism, by stealing and the way they treated people. Plain and simple got it.

[bessie berelowitz]

there is nothing simple about SIMPLE JEW.Its all too simple when he in fact is a mosquito buzzing around biting us and annoying. Its rigged like canned laughter ,reading his remarks are to irritate one and all.BUZZ on simple you have become a joke.

[Abracadabra]

Nachos -

Speaking for myself and on behalf of many other of my Jewish brothers and sisters, I apologize that you suffered at the hands of this terrible Jew who treated you so badly. Please forgive us as a people for not being able to control his behavior. Know that many, many of us Jews feel that his actions were terribly and horrifically wrong, and that it was a disgrace that you and other people were treated so badly by him and his family. We are simply ashamed that he is a Jew, and wish we could disown him. He is a disgrace to what the rest of us stand for. We wish he would not call himself a Jew any longer, because like you said - his God is money, or himself, without any regard for other fellow human beings or for doing the right thing. Those of us who practice the real values of Jewish tradition put PEOPLE FIRST, and kindness first, and righting wrongs first, and being scrupulously honest in our business dealings.

I'm sorry you were treated so badly. And I know many other Jews who feel terrible and are very upset about what the Rubashkins did to you and to so many others.

[Yochanan Lavie]

Apologies:

Neil Young Hey Hey, My My Lyrics

Oy vey, my my
Rubbishcan can never die
There's more to the lawsuit
That money can buy.
Oy vey, my my.

Out of Postville and into the clink
You pay for meat, but they give you stink
And once you've buy it, you must kasher your sink
When you're out of Postville and into the clink.

The Rebbe's gone but there's nothing doin'
Is this the story of Nathan Lewin.
It's better to appeal 'cause trust never keeps
The Rebbe's is gone but there's nothing doin'.

Oy vey, my my
Rubbishcan can never die
There's more to the lawsuit
That money can buy... (fadeout).

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

Here is a new idea for Rubashkin:

Send a letter to Judge Reade. Confess all his crimes. Offer to make restitution. Apologize to everyone he stole, screwed, and cheated.

What does he have to lose at this point by doing so?

[dd]

as of now , the rubashkin case is dead .
how can lewin will revive the case after SCOTUS rejected it. i wanna see that .

if lewin wants to make more millions from donors and make rubashkin fam believe something that's impossible . yes, he can .

this is a very good case to make millions and keep going with no results .
rubashkin fam will go for that .

[simple jew]

B"H

Nachos

Please explain more on your reply.

You are a cattle supplier for meat plants?

If you please explain more about what you are saying. Were you a supplier for Rubashkin?

You are saying you paid your suppliers late because his check to you was 7 days late?

Has any other business ever paid you late? How late?

Have you had a customerever no pay you at all?

Are you Jewish?

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

Simple Jew, please answer the following questions in detail:

Are you a Jew?

Are you a criminal?

Do you pay your bills on time?

Do people pay what they owe you, on time?

How do you feel when people do not pay you what they owe?

Have you ever been cheated by a Jew?

Do you cheat other people you do business with?

Why or why not?

I am waiting for your answers.

[dh]

Abra @ 10:14

Nicely said. I agree.

[dh]

Shmarya, I see you aren't going after NAMI funding again this year.

[Simple Jew]

B"H

WSC

Simple Jew, please answer the following questions in detail:

Are you a Jew? Yes

Are you a criminal? No. Of course with more laws than any other country in the world and the largest incarceration rate of any country in the world one can never be too sure of what law they are violating. ie: Ever see those signs in stores that say "$10 minimum" for using credit cards? illegal.

Do you pay your bills on time? Yes. I always try to.

Do people pay what they owe you, on time? Not always.

How do you feel when people do not pay you what they owe? Frustrated but I try to reassure myself that Hashem is running the show and if I lose a few thousand here I will make it back in another way.

Have you ever been cheated by a Jew? I hope not but probably yes. I would like to assume that the guy who told me a huge story about how his wife was pregnant in labor etc and needed the $ for gas because car was running out and I agreed to use my CC to put gas in his pump and he promised to pay me back just after Yom Tov... was not jewish. He had a Yarmulke and new jewish words.

Do you cheat other people you do business with? No.

Why or why not? It is against the Torah. It is against the law. Even if you don't agree with certain laws you need to follow them. Not following unjust laws in this country is commendable but you need to be ready to deal with the mesiras nefesh involved. ie: Think about the blacks in the south fighting for equal rights. They were right and eventually vindicated but casualties along the way.

You got my answers. I am thinking that the other guy is not what he makes himself out to be but I could be wrong. I have never seen an interview in a magazine or similar with a personal account from any of the sellers of cows to Rubashkin that explained how tough it was because a payment was 7 days late, etc.

[Simple Jew]

B"H

I stand corrected.

There was a change last year and stores can now set a minimum for using CC.

How about this law that most of you have probably violated? It is a federal law violation if you stick a birthday invitation into a neighbors mailbox for your kids birthday party. Or any other "mail" that you deliver to your neighbors mailbox. You can not legally put anything in there as it is considered tampering with mail.

If the government wants to bring you down (CH"VS) they can just look through their millions of laws and find out what you did wrong.

ie: Like using a 1921 law for the 1st time almost 90 years after it was passed.

[Shmarya]

Posted by: Simple Jew | October 05, 2012 at 01:23 PM

You have a mental illness.

I have explained to you over and over and over again that the cattle law WAS prosecuted many times since 1921. All of those prosecutions were civil rather than criminal because the violations were not tied to other federal crimes.

Burt Rubashkin used his violations of the cattle law as part of his bank fraud, which made his violations criminal and which forced the government to prosecute them as crimes.

You need professional mental health counseling.

[WoolSilkCotton, rock star and sports superstar]

Simple Jew, what do you think of Mordecai Samet?

Mordecai Samet used the US Mail to send out fraudulent documents to people he wanted to scam.
He was caught when the post office noticed he used fraudulent stamps made with a postage meter that was unauthorized.
For that, and other crimes, he was sentenced to 27 years. He is still rotting in Otisville.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/June03/
samet222sentence.pdf

http://federalevidence.com/pdf/2006/08A-August/US_.v._Samet.pdf

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2001-03-30/news/18183374_1_fraud-factory-phony-passports-indicted

"...Officials fingered the ringleader as Mordechai Samet, 40, the bearded father of 11 children. "My client is innocent," said Samet's attorney, Susann Brody, who described him as a legitimate businessman..."

[nachos]

Posted by: Abracadabra | October 05, 2012 at 10:14 AM

Thankyou for your kind words.

Simple Jew:

Yes, I am Jewish. I am probably the only Jewish cattle guy that actually sent some cattle to Rubashkin. In fact, there was a time that I was converting my whole lot to Rubashkin's kind of cattle That process stopped when I caught him switching cattle. He denied any involvement, and promised to investigate. He did nothing except sweep the whole thing under the rug.

After that, and witnessing the treatment of the goyim, I never shipped him anything again, and my tefillin has not been donned again. May your dead rebbe rot.

[nachos]

Simple Jew:

Are you Jewish, or do you worship the dead rebbe?

I have never ever not been paid for cattle or livestock. That is because of the laws that protect us from people like Rubashkin.

Do you hear that sound? That is the sound of negative margins and meat packing plants. How long do you think Hershy is going to take the losses for? His managers are to stupid to use coproducts for feed. It is only a matter of time, before he gets tired of the losses and the plant closes and the entire Jewish community can go back to Brooklyn.

[nachos]

Simple Jew:

Let me give you an education of how the sale barn system works. A farmer brings his livestock in to be sold.

Rubashkin's buyer would purchase the cattle. Let's say the amount is $1200 per head. The farmer gets his check immediately from the sale barn. The sale barn gets a $7 to $10 commission. Generally, the farmer cashes his check immediately because the margins are so smnall. On A $1200 steer the profit might only be about $50 for an animal that the farmer has raised for a year.

The sale barn is now owed the $1200 from Rubashkin. They are taking the risk of getting paid for a measly $7 to $10. Rubashkin must put up a bond to guarantee payment. The terms of the bond usually are if he does not pay within the week, you either have to collect on the bond or after the week if you have not put a claim on the bond you are stuck because you have extended him credit.

That is the system we have and has worked great for 100 years. Salebarns like Bloomington Livestock where Rubashkin bought a lot of cattle are to important for farmers to lose them. These salebarns provide tremendour service to the farming community with little margin for error.

By the way, many of Rubashkin's own truckers sold their personal cattle through the sale barn system rather than directly to Rubashkin because they did not trust him.

His father should have taken much of the fall on this stuff, but was to much of a coward to do so.

By the way, did Chaim Cohen ever pay for the furnace that somebody installed in his house? Maybe simple jew, you can ask him and then maybe make a connection about the origins of antisemitism.

Posted by: nachos|

[FirstGenerationBavarianAmerican]

Nachos:

Is Friedman STILL losing money on the Postville operation? A long time ago, I questioned whether changing times made it impossible to run a big arse Kosher meat packiing plant in a rural area like Postville at a profit. Or is it because Friedman doesn't know the meat industry?

By now, they should have started selling at respectable levels to their old customer base, allowing for the usual "churn" of customers. I agree Friedman can't operate at a loss forever.

[nachos]

Friedman has got to be bleeding money. There is no question in my mind that Postville could be profitable. The plant was profitable and had a sterling reputation when Don Hunt ran the place. His death was the turning point.

Hershy has hired people that have no clue about the business. Let me give you an example. When Shalom was there, I told him that I suspected that implants were probably they most likely suspect in why cattle do not kosher. Heifers are implanted less than steers. The reason is the implant is generally a female hormone that would cause her to be sterile. I went to one of the computer guys at Postville, and he did an analysis of 20,000 of the last cattle they bought. Heifers had over a 20% greater chance of going glatt. Shalom did nothing with the info.

Chaim has yet to set up a grid formula that includes koshering in the grid. This would encourage cattle from producers that consistently kosher to send their cattle to Postville. The problem is that their is no trust between producer and management.

How about a program where they will pay 10cents more per head, if they can ultrasound them in the farmer's chute in his yard. They could probably get their kosher percentage up to 90% by doing this. Would the cattle cost more, a little bit but they are to stupid to figure it out.

Another problem that I saw was the water in the pens in the barn at the plant. They were giving the cattle flouridated water. Every idiot knows that cattle are resistant to drinking it. The extra shrink alone probably costs hershy $5,000 per week minimum. In addition, there should be lick tubs in the pens. A lick tub would reduce their dark cutters.

These small suggestions could save the plant tens of thousands of dollars instead they look at the few hundred dollar cost of a lick tub and don't do anything.

What does Hershy know about feeding his chickens co-products. Answer probably nothing. I bet you all their corn is bought in the cash market because they were to stupid to lock in anything. They probably argue with the mill over $1 extra in mixing charges and not look at the content of their feed. Chickens do great on cereal and malt sprouts, but I guess they don't realize that, because the management is to busy trying to figure out how to steal from their goy neighbor.

There is 100 other things they could do to turn it around, but first some heads need to roll.

Have a good shabbos.

[simple jew]

B"H

So... te cattle farmers got paid on time every time by the salesbarn?

What was that story you told earier about you having problems paying your feed suppliers and mortgage...

If rubashkin messed over sales barn more than once they would be crazy to do business with him, no?

[nachos]

Dear Simple Jew:

Let me further explain things to you. The last thing a profitable packing plant wants to do is buy cattle in a salebarn. However, Postville bought most of their cattle there because of lack of trust. Their own employees would not sell them cattle grade and yield.

Most cattle are sold with a grid formula direct to the packer. Postville has no grid because they are to stupid to make one.

If you want me to go into specific detail about how I was shorted, I will. However, in case the USDA is monitoring this board are you sure you want me to detail additional illegal activity that I knew was going on that no charges have been brought. Do you really want me to open up another legal front? Are you that simple.

Here is a question that I would like to ask you about me. Since I am the Jewish person with cattle in the area, do you think that maybe my personal reputation with my neighbors got affected because I got lumped in with other Jews?

[state of the Jews]

Having dealt with the meatpacking industry for years - both poultry and beef - let me say that nachos is correct. Most plants buy direct from farmers if they can and only go to sale barns if supply is a problem.

The real shanda is that not all of the potential charges against the Rubashkins were brought because once the fraud was uncovered the Feds didn't want to pursue the others.
Business decisions at the plant were not made by Shalom alone. Aaron, Shalom and Heshy Rubashkin sat together once a month to settle plant issues about which Heshey and Shalom disagreed. In other words, it is true that Shalom took the fall for his Father and Brother.