Sholom Rubashkin is guilty of bank fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and more when he was CEO at the Agriprocessors. At the time, the May 12, 2008 raid was the largest immigration bust in U.S. history. Authorities arrested hundreds of illegal workers. Today, the government says Rubashkin won't stand trial on immigration charges.
Last week, a jury found Rubashkin guilty of 86 counts of financial fraud. He was scheduled to go to trial December 2nd on 72 counts of immigration charges. "Mr. Rubashkin was prepared to testify and we were ready to go," says defense attorney Guy Cook. He says his client has maintained his innocence from the beginning. "The court dismissed the charges and he is indeed innocent, the charges have been dismissed," says Cook.
In its six page motion to dismiss, the U.S. Attorneys Office says "the public interest has been substantially served because of the convictions and jury findings." Prosecutors say any conviction on the immigration charges would have no impact upon his sentence. They write, "dismissal will avoid an extended and expensive trial, conserve limited resources, and lessen the inconvenience to witnesses."
Des Moines immigration attorney Jim Benzoni is not part of the criminal case, but he and others have closely followed the trial. "We need immigration reform and this trial should have been a place where that began to come out," he says. Benzoni believes the government had some "very good legal, economic reasons for not spending weeks more in trial." He believes the other reasons "were very political."
Rubashkin is being held at the Linn County Jail. At a bond hearing yesterday, many in the Orthodox Jewish community testified that Rubashkin is not a flight risk. Cook says more than 1,000 people submitted letters in his support and others offered to put up nearly $8 million from the equity of his home. Rubashkin's defense is also filing a motion for a new trial.
Last week, a jury found Rubashkin guilty of 86 counts of financial fraud. He was scheduled to go to trial December 2nd on 72 counts of immigration charges. "Mr. Rubashkin was prepared to testify and we were ready to go," says defense attorney Guy Cook. He says his client has maintained his innocence from the beginning. "The court dismissed the charges and he is indeed innocent, the charges have been dismissed," says Cook.
In its six page motion to dismiss, the U.S. Attorneys Office says "the public interest has been substantially served because of the convictions and jury findings." Prosecutors say any conviction on the immigration charges would have no impact upon his sentence. They write, "dismissal will avoid an extended and expensive trial, conserve limited resources, and lessen the inconvenience to witnesses."
Des Moines immigration attorney Jim Benzoni is not part of the criminal case, but he and others have closely followed the trial. "We need immigration reform and this trial should have been a place where that began to come out," he says. Benzoni believes the government had some "very good legal, economic reasons for not spending weeks more in trial." He believes the other reasons "were very political."
Rubashkin is being held at the Linn County Jail. At a bond hearing yesterday, many in the Orthodox Jewish community testified that Rubashkin is not a flight risk. Cook says more than 1,000 people submitted letters in his support and others offered to put up nearly $8 million from the equity of his home. Rubashkin's defense is also filing a motion for a new trial.
