Agriprocessors. Owner's son gets arrested
Breaks my heart.
A former manager of a kosher slaughterhouse that was found to have employed hundreds of illegal immigrants was arrested Thursday by authorities who allege he helped many of the workers get fake documents.
Prosecutors said Sholom Rubashkin, 49-year-old son of Agriprocessors owner Abraham Aaron Rubashkin, is charged with conspiracy to harbor undocumented immigrants for financial gain, aiding and abetting document fraud, and aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft.
Laura Althouse, a human resources employee with Agriprocessors, pleaded guilty this week to conspiracy to harbor undocumented immigrants for financial gain and aggravated identity theft. Trial is scheduled for Nov. 17 for another human resources worker, Karina Freund.
Two of the plant's meatpacking supervisors also faced federal immigration charges.
In September, the owner and managers of the plant, including Sholom Rubashkin, were charged with 9,311 misdemeanors alleging they illegally hired minors and let children younger than 16 handle dangerous equipment. The complaint filed by the Iowa attorney general's office said the violations involved 32 illegal-immigrant children younger than 18, including seven who were not yet 16.
On Wednesday, Agriprocessors was fined nearly $10 million by Iowa Labor Commissioner Dave Neil over accusations that it violated state wage laws. The company has 30 days to appeal.
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Comment by riffran— 2008/10/31 @ 06:11 PM — (Reply)