Prosecutors: Keep slaughterhouse manager jailed

Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008 - 06:46:07 pm CST

NIGEL DUARA

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Federal prosecutors said Wednesday a former kosher slaughterhouse manager should stay in jail because he's a flight risk and likely to tamper with evidence

They told a federal judge at a hearing for Sholom Rubashkin that after he was arrested last week on bank fraud charges, agents found about $20,000 in cash and silver coins packed with passports in a travel bag in his bedroom.

"You honor, if you were going to leave in a hurry, this is exactly what you would pack," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Deegan.

Prosecutors also allege Rubashkin tried to tamper with evidence when he was released from jail after earlier charges of harboring illegal immigrants, document fraud and identity theft. Rubashkin, former CEO at Agriprocessors in Postville, pleaded not guilty to those charges.

Magistrate Jon Scoles will rule Thursday on whether Rubashkin should remain in jail.

The judge also scheduled Rubashkin's trial on the earlier charges for Jan. 20. It's expected to last two weeks. A trial hasn't been set on the bank fraud charge.

Agriprocessors was the site of a May 12 immigration raid in which 389 people were arrested, about a third of the plant's work force. The company and top managers also are accused of violating state and federal laws dealing with child labor, wage requirements and safety rules. The plant recently closed and is seeking bankruptcy protection.

The company also operated a plant near Gordon, Neb., which has been closed because of the company's problems.

Defense attorney Baruch Weiss said Rubashkin kept cash, passports and birth certificates stashed in a travel bag because he has a 15-year-old mentally disabled son who might destroy the items if they weren't secured.

Weiss said that since the raid and the plant's ensuing financial trouble, Rubashkin has used the cash to pay bills. As evidence, he showed a $1,700 receipt for a bill to the Ford Motor Co., paid in cash.

Prosecutors also noted a December 2007 trip Rubashkin made to Israel, and said he is a risk to flee there because of the country's "Law of Return." The rule states that those of Jewish descent are allowed to emigrate to Israel and obtain dual citizenship if they aren't a public threat.

Weiss responded that Israel's extradition laws would allow Rubashkin to be returned to the United States for prosecution, and that it wouldn't make sense for him to flee.

The prosecution also claimed Rubashkin is likely to tamper with evidence if released, and entered into evidence an affidavit that quotes an unnamed account clerk from Agriprocessors. According to the affidavit, Rubashkin told the clerk on Oct. 30 to "clean out your desk," an instruction she took to mean she should destroy evidence of checks that had not yet been posted.

The tampering alleged in the affidavit relates to the separate bank fraud case against Rubashkin.

Deegan, the prosecutor, said the clerk shredded a spreadsheet that listed checks that had not yet been posted to customers' accounts, and that Rubashkin also took a computer drive containing check records.

Deegan also said Rubashkin was implicated _ but never convicted _ in a check-kiting scheme from March 2004 in which one woman was ordered to pay $82,000 in restitution to her bank. The defense objected to the exhibits, but the judge overruled them.

Weiss, one of Rubashkin's lawyers, said 30 families had offered their homes as equity to free Rubashkin until trial. A nephew and in-laws in New York also have offered property as equity. Weiss said the total would be about $2 million, in addition to the $500,000 Rubashkin has already posted as bond.

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