AP
DES MOINES, Iowa — A former vice president of an Iowa kosher slaughterhouse will be sentenced to 27 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $27 million restitution for his conviction on financial fraud charges, a federal judge said Monday.
Chief U.S. District Court Judge Linda R. Reade released the memorandum outlining the sentence she will hand down for Sholom Rubashkin during the former Agriprocessor's Inc. manager on Tuesday in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
A jury found Rubashkin guilty last fall on 86 federal financial fraud charges. Prosecutors had sought a 25-year sentence. Rubashkin's attorney, Guy Cook, said the sentence is longer than necessary and plans to appeal.[...]
DES MOINES, Iowa — A former vice president of an Iowa kosher slaughterhouse will be sentenced to 27 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $27 million restitution for his conviction on financial fraud charges, a federal judge said Monday.
Chief U.S. District Court Judge Linda R. Reade released the memorandum outlining the sentence she will hand down for Sholom Rubashkin during the former Agriprocessor's Inc. manager on Tuesday in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
A jury found Rubashkin guilty last fall on 86 federal financial fraud charges. Prosecutors had sought a 25-year sentence. Rubashkin's attorney, Guy Cook, said the sentence is longer than necessary and plans to appeal.[...]
What kind of message is Young Israel sending? (Pinny Lipschutz will no doubt be even more dramatic)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/us/22iowa.html
“Our community will react just as I have, with shock and disgust,” said Rabbi Pesach Lerner, executive vice president of the National Council of Young Israel, who has organized support for Mr. Rubashkin among Orthodox Jews. Rabbi Lerner said he would try to raise an outcry to bring attention to the appeal.
http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/breaking_news/judge_rubashkin_get_27_years
But both the judge and prosecutors scoffed at the assertion that Rubashkin never profited from his crime. Prosecutors presented evidence that Rubashkin diverted from Agriprocessors $300,000 to pay his credit card bills, $200,000 to remodel his house, $76,000 to pay his state and federal income taxes, $41,000 to pay his mortgage, $25,000 for jewelry, $20,000 for sterling silver, $1,245-a-month for life insurance, and $365 for car payments.
Reade wrote also that Rubashkin “lied at trial under oath” and that his “lies were willful … [and] material because they related directly to the nature of his involvement in the offenses of conviction.”
For instance, she said he lied when he claimed never to have asked an employee to create bills of lading to match false invoices – directly contradicting the testimony of the employee and the fake invoices and bills of lading introduced into evidence.
“The defendant’s testimony on this matter is incredible,” the judge wrote. “By perjuring himself at trial, defendant willfully obstructed or impeded … the administration of justice.”
“The defendant’s obstructive conduct in the instant action was more excessive than that involved in a typical financial crime case …,” Reade said.
“Like most human beings, defendant’s character includes good traits and bad traits,” she wrote. “In light of defendant’s character as a whole, the court finds that his charitable and civic nature does not warrant [leniency]. Additionally, it is entirely possible that a number of defendant’s charitable deeds were funded with proceeds from his crimes. It is far easier to be generous with someone else’s money instead of one’s own.”
The judge also rejected the defense claims that Rubashkin suffered from depression that “impaired his judgment,” saying the assertion was “unsupported by any credible and independent physician.”
WARNING SHOT
ReplyDeleteHaShem Yerachaim.
This is one more turn of the screw against us.
At the rate things are going the 'enemies of Israel' could wind up in big trouble in the US.
Out would go support of Israel. Bechlal.
What amazes me is how little our 'leaders,' many of whom are not leaders at all but simply self-proclaimed pundit writers, undereducated and undertrained, are worried about turning off the US.
They continually batter on the US and its leaders, raising the ante every time they get any results. Sooner or later they are going to get us into real trouble.
Nutkin, in Beatrix Potter, insists on taunting owl until he decides to eat him up. It was obviously not really worth it.
Please be more careful with our relationship with a powerful and potentially dangerous enemy!
And my prayers go out to Mr. Rubashkin.
My Friend Chometz for Pesach:
ReplyDeleteYour name, unfortunately, quite fits.
Nobody said he was innocent.
What they said was the punishment was over the top and, really, just plain anti-semitic.
How much did Martha Stewart get? For more millions than he took?
A year?
You know that too.
How much did Martha Stewart get? For more millions than he took?
ReplyDeleteMartha Stewart took ZERO dollars. How did you arrive at "millions" of dollars? Will you just say anything to defend a crook?
Martha Stewart's main crime was lying to investigators. At least she didn't perjure herself in open court after reciting the entire Sefer Tehillim every morning like SMR.