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National Wage and Hour Clearinghouse

Trial to Begin on Illegal Workers

Monday, October 12, 2009

The former chief executive of an Iowa slaughterhouse that was at the center of one of nation’s largest immigration raids is scheduled to stand trial in federal court beginning Tuesday on a host of charges including money laundering and bank fraud.

The defendant, Sholom Rubashkin, was a top manager and part of the family ownership at Agriprocessors Inc., a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, that was one of the largest kosher slaughterhouses in the country.

Mr. Rubashkin, 49, is accused of being closely involved in efforts to employ illegal workers at the plant, in addition to the fraud-related charges.

About half of Agriprocessors’ work force was arrested at the plant in the May 2008 raid. The immigrants had reported the use of under-age employees and what they said were abusive work conditions to the authorities.

Hundreds of workers, some from Guatemala, were convicted on federal charges after the raid. Most served five months in prison and were deported.

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