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Bankruptcy trustee hopes to restart Agriprocessors' line
BY TONY LEYS
The new de-facto leader of Agriprocessors Inc. said today that he hopes to restart production as soon as possible.
Joseph Sarachek, a New York bankruptcy lawyer, was appointed by a federal judge Thursday to serve as the Postville company’s trustee. The appointment gives him effective control over short-term decisions by the business.
Sarachek was en route to Postville today to tour the meatpacking plant and try to get a handle on the situation. “Time is of the essence,” he said.
The company is in bankruptcy, and it suspended production last Monday. Scores of workers have gone without paychecks for at least two weeks. A makeshift food bank has been helping feed people since Friday.
Agriprocessors was Allamakee County’s dominant employer, but it has been struggling to survive since last May, when it was the site of a huge immigration raid. Its former top executive, Sholom Rubashkin, is in jail awaiting trial on federal charges of defrauding the company’s main lender and of helping illegal immigrants gain false papers. Several other former managers also face criminal charges, and state officials have proposed millions of dollars in fines for alleged violations of labor laws.
The Rubashkin family still owns the business, Sarachek said, “but they’re no longer in control.” A bankruptcy judge appointed him as trustee to oversee the company while the court tries to sort out how its creditors can collect on the tens of millions of dollars they’re owed.
Sarachek said the company would be worth more if it was operating than it would be if it were defunct. He said he was bringing in two outside meat-industry experts with experience in making kosher meat, which is Agriprocessors’ specialty. He declined to discuss a Rubashkin family lawyer’s prediction last week that the company was about to be sold. However, he said he has heard from several parties expressing interest in a possible purchase.
Sarachek said he planned to meet with Postville city leaders this afternoon. He said he didn’t yet know enough details about the situation to predict when the company would be able to make payroll. But he said it’s crucial that the plant have a labor force to restart production.