The Rubashkin trial: Jury selection, his successor speaks
Tuesday marked the start of jury selection in the federal fraud trial of Sholom Rubashkin, the former manager of the Agriprocessors kosher slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa. Rubashkin, who insists he is innocent, is facing 91 charges related to allegations of laundering $1 million and the creation of fake sales records; he is also looking at second trial connected to 72 immigration-related charges.
In USA Today, Grant Schulte of the Des Moines Register reports that Rubashkin has plenty of support at the courthouse:
Supporters of the top executive of a meat packing plant that was the scene of the largest single-site immigration raid in U.S. history flooded a South Dakota federal courthouse today to pray for the man they described as generous and warm-hearted.
Scores of Chabad-Lubavitch Jews crowded into the Sioux Falls courthouse with psalm books and whispered prayers, to stand by Sholom Rubashkin, the ousted top executive at Agriprocessors, Inc.
The Associated Press reports that with the selection of the jury, opening statements are expected Wednsday.
Meanwhile, back in Postville, the plant is now called Agri Star, and its new owner, Hershey Friedman, is promising changes. On Tuesday, he spoke with the Des Moines Register:
The new leader of the former Agriprocessors meatpacking plant is promising a different way of doing business than his controversial predecessors practiced.
Hershey Friedman said the plant, now called Agri Star, no longer will be known as a place where illegal immigrants work in unsafe conditions for low wages. He said his managers are using tight controls to ensure that all workers are legal, and the company has improved safety training and raised wages for production workers.
Friedman, 59, spoke in an interview Tuesday morning at the plant, which has been the subject of nationwide scrutiny since federal agents raided it in May 2008 and arrested hundreds of immigrant workers who were in the country illegally. ...
Several workers, interviewed away from the plant, confirmed that conditions have improved. They said that their pay has increased, from as little as $6.25 an hour to as much as $11 an hour, and that they are no longer being cheated out of hours they worked.
Also, the workers said, supervisors are taking more care to train employees on safety issues, and they've slowed down the production line. ...
The non-Jewish workers might be happier, but the story suggests that the Orthodox holdovers have not necessarily warmed to Friedman -- who is not a Lubavitcher -- in part because he is providing less support to the local Jewish day school than the Rubashkins did.
Friedman acknowledged that he is not subsidizing the school as heavily as his predecessor did. He said that the school should be independent of the plant and that its families should be able to pay reasonable tuition. He said the previous plant owners treated Postville as a "company town," in which they controlled real estate, the Jewish school, the synagogue and other institutions. He does not intend to continue the practice.
Friedman said he would support numerous community causes, not just those that help Jews. "A human being is a human being," he said.
Read the full story.
12 Comments
Share This
Comments RSS Feed Reader Comments
TO: JTA
So you got rid of Mussa da Moron...then you got rid of the comments links for all of your articles (thereby throwing the baby out with the bath water!)...and now you allow “Mussas Back” to resume posting his idiotic drivel, personal attacks, and un-Jewish filth. Have you no standards or do you just make them up as you go along? How about a response for all of us???
I still wonder why the dunderheads on this board are responded to. Commentors like Mussa act like the gross kid in the back of the room in the 5th grade who makes burp and fart sounds to get attention - and laughs when he does.
We have yet to hear from Thoroughly Disgusted and Dawg, but once they sniff that Mussa and David are here they’ll return as well.
Ignore them and they WILL go away. Classroom nuisances stop when ignored. So will JTA Board nuisances.
My curiosity is why JTA allows comments only on articles under “Editor’s Picks” on their Daily Briefings Email. Also, “Report Comment” has been removed. Seems as though some form of monitoring test is underway.
Anyway, remember what the sooth said when confronted by an outrageous traveler on his way:
“Sticks and stones. They mayeth harm me, but words will not. But you, sir, with your bile and your foul breath are a challenge to even the mightiest stone throwers. So to yee I shall pay no heed nor observance.”
I suggest we all follow ole sage’s advice.
One oops: Report Comment appears after a comment is posted. However, should be there when the article is read. I don’t recall, now, how it was in the good old free wheeling days - like a couple of weeks ago.
TR,
With all due respect, as I’ve told you before, they will not go away if ignored. They are like herpes, only more obnoxious. Case in point, Mussa Puke was suspended not too long ago and now he’s back. There must be reasons why JTA does what it does and the way that they do it. But you won’t have the privilege of knowing that since it seems that JTA has adopted a new policy of ignoring their readers by not responding to inquiries. Try it yourself and you’ll see.
Blackie -
You referred to me as TR --- Teddy Roosevelt? Nah. Couldn’t be. He accomplished more in a day than I will in my lifetime.
So back to my original point. There are a number of good contributers on this board and when one is inspired to write due to an onslaught of herpes that person should write something constructive to add to our information rather than a rant.
I don’t blame you for your reaction, but try reading some AOL commentors, especially vis-a-vis Jews and Blacks. I also used to go to known reliable boards for specific stocks I owned and even THERE I was deluged with hate, bigotry, gross Anti-Israel and Antisemitic diatribes and the issue was how the stock is performing and news about the company. And the haters held at least 1/3rd of a board hostage. Haters invade anywhere they have a large enough audience to spew to.
It is virtually impossible to stop this stuff on digital bulletin boards because one can have infinite opportunities to use new user names and Email addresses with Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, Gmail and one of at well over a thousand small ISP’s that offer their own Email.
The heuristics that are used to prevent spam cannot be used for bulletin board comments.
This is all too complex to handle in an Email - you can look up how anti-spam engines work - but the point is JTA is not at fault here.
I stand by my ignore ‘em approach. Those of us who want to share info will agglomerate together, leaving the herpes mongers as simply meaningless outliers.
Leave a Comment
To comment on this article, you must first be registered with JTA.
Not Registered?
There are real advantages to a FREE registration with JTA.org:
- Make your voice heard through comments on articles
- Receive our e-mailed Daily Briefing, an invaluable quick-read
- Help decide what Jewish news matters most with interactive tools
Register Now
Already a JTA member?
Recent Comments
- Mark S. Devenow on After prayer and punch, Foreman takes Jewish victory lap
- M.A. Kinnaman on After prayer and punch, Foreman takes Jewish victory lap
- Steve007 on After prayer and punch, Foreman takes Jewish victory lap
- steve ariza on After prayer and punch, Foreman takes Jewish victory lap
- Lauryn on NIF on defense for 'rape' poster demonizing Israel
Eugene M. Kravis
10/14/09 01:52 PM
When a USDA Veterinary Meat Inspector raises his hand, the plant stops!!! NO IFS,ANDS OR BUTS, That was the law when I was a young veterinary meat inspector in the 1960’s. And that included the ENTIRE PLANT. If the meat products are shipped in interstate commerce, THE LAW is in effect. ENFORCE IT and the problems will go away.
Eugene M. Kravis, DVM.