“Throw the goniff (yiddish for thief) in the slammer, where he belongs.”
Read the article. No one is saying that he should not be put in jail. But for life? If so, can we have some of that for more serious crimes?
Don’t rush to judgement. We haven’t even tried the Pastrami K’nish yet.
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Armed gang holds up train in Mexico, robs freight
By Gustavo Ruiz, AP Writer / Dec 27, 2008
MORELIA, Mexico A gang of about 20 men armed with assault rifles robbed a train in the western Mexican state of Michoacan and carted off some of its freight, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday. The gang parked a pickup truck across the tracks on Friday, forcing the train to stop. The assailants then threatened the train’s crew and opened some of the freight containers it was carrying.
A statement by the prosecutor’s office did not specify what the gang stole from the train, operated by Kansas City Southern, a subsidiary of the US-based railway company. But the thieves may have been after drums of pseudoephedrine, a chemical used in the illegal manufacture of methamphetamines, according to an official at the Michoacan state attorney general’s office. [snip]
SOURCE http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/12/27/armed_gang_holds_up_train_in_mexico_robs_freight?mode=PF
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The Des Moines Register reported that methamphetamine (AKA crystal meth) was discovered in active production at Agriprocessors.
Back in 2004, Hasidim religious from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and Monsey, NY, were involved in importing the party drug "ecstasy" from Israel. Some got recruitment fees for bringing in friends. An investigation resulted in indictments against seven of the alleged drug lords. Sean Erez, an Israeli who authorities believed ran the ring, absconded to Amsterdam as L/E weighed a request for extradition to the US.
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ADL appeals to attorney general in Rubashkin case
By Ben Harris · December 24, 2008
NEW YORK (JTA) -- The Anti-Defamation League has asked the US attorney general to ensure that Israel's Law of Return is not used to deny bail to Jewish defendants. In a letter to then-US Attorney General Michael Mukasey who is an Orthodox Jew, ADL National Director Abraham Foxman took note of a federal magistrate judge's recent denial of bail to Sholom Rubashkin, former manager of the Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant.
The judge, Jon Scoles, ruled that Sholom Rubashkin posed a risk of flight and declined to release him on bail, pointing to evidence that he had a travel bag with cash and travel documents on hand at the time of his arrest. He also noted that two others accused of crimes connected to their work at Agriprocessors are believed to have fled to Israel. Scoles took note of Israel's Law of Return, which grants automatic citizenship to Jews.
On Monday, the judge denied a request to reconsider the judgment. Sholom Rubashkin's attorneys are said to be considering an appeal. “The most troubling aspect here is that the government does not appear to have alleged, nor does the Detention Order conclude, that Defendant Rubashkin has any particular ties to Israel (he is alleged to have visited Israel in December 2007),” Foxman wrote. “Instead, the government and the Detention Order appear to conclude that simply because Defendant Sholom Rubashkin is Jewish, and because Jews may have a claim on Israeli citizenship, his religion is relevant to a bail hearing.”
In their request for consideration, Rubashkin's attorneys argued at length that invoking the Law of Return was illegitimate, noting that under the government's reasoning, every American Jew would be viewed as a heightened flight risk, including Mukasey himself and two justices of the US Supreme Court. They further proposed several additional measures to ensure Rubashkin did not flee, including 24-hour security surveillance at the defendant's expense.
In denying the motion, Scoles asserted that Rubashkin's attorneys “attach too much significance” to the Law of Return factor in the original decision and that they had not produced any new information bearing on his risk of flight. Rubashkin was arrested in late October on charges relating to the hiring of illegal workers at the company's Postville, Iowa, packing plant.
While free on bond, Rubashkin was arrested a second time and charged with bank fraud. (Rubashkin, Agriprocessors CEO, is accused of diverting millions of dollars in customer payments that were part of First Bank’s collateral and instructing an employee to delete evidence of the scheme from the company’s computers.
SOURCE http://jta.org/news/article/2008/12/24/1001808/adl-appeals-to-attorney-general-in-rubashkin-case
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REFERENCE Agriprocessors produces Kosher meat and poultry in Iowa. It was founded by Brooklyn butcher, Aaron Rubashkin, and managed by his son, Sholom. In the affidavit filed as part of the 60-page application for a search warrant of the premises, details were revealed of the government's investigation including numerous allegations of health and safety violations, mistreating workers, and using controversial slaughter practices.
A former supervisor at the plant--identified as Source #1- told investigators that some 80% of the workforce was illegal. The source also said he believed rabbis responsible for Kosher supervision entered the United States from Canada without proper immigration documents. The rabbis are believed to be Israelis.
Sources related stories of fraudulent documents and Social Security numbers presented for employment. Several said they were aware of undocumented workers paid by supervisors in cash. The affidavit says the government has probable cause to believe that an Agriprocessors supervisor assisted workers in acquiring fake documents in exchange for a cut of the proceeds.
The Des Moines Register headlined that methamphetamine (AKA crystal meth) was discovered in active production at Agriprocessors (a substance that has been linked to Israeli suppliers).
In another case, Rubashkin apparently "sold" $2 million worth of meat to Allou Healthcare (a company controlled by the Rubashkin's Hasidim brethren) Only problem is, Allou distributes health and beauty items------and is not in the food business. Authorities might consider that Allou paying Rubashkin for a product it did not sell might be a kickback, money laundering or tax evasion scheme.
Money laundering or tax evasion might be integrated into Agriprocessor's bank fraud schemes----which included diverting millions of dollars in customer payments that were part of First Bank’s collateral and instructing an Agriprocessor employee to delete evidence of the scheme from the company’s computers........for which Rubashkin was arrested and charged with bank fraud.
Judge Scoles ruled that Shlomo Rubashkin CEO of Agriprocessors kosher meat plant, Iowa (pocesses meats for Orthodox consumers) posed a flight risk and declined to release him on bail, pointing to evidence that he had a travel bag with cash and travel documents on hand at the time of his arrest.
Judge Scoles also noted that two others accused of crimes connected to Agriprocessors are believed to have fled to Israel. The source also said he believed rabbis responsible for kosher supervision entered the United States from Canada without proper immigration documents. The rabbis are believed to be from Israel.
Rubashkin was arrested in late October on charges relating to the hiring of illegal workers at the company's Postville, Iowa, packing plant. While free on bond, Rubashkin was arrested a second time and charged with bank fraud........accused of diverting millions of dollars in customer payments that were part of First Bank’s collateral and instructing an employee to delete evidence of the scheme from the company’s computers.