Postville, IA – A former beef operations manager of Agriprocessors was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 10 months in prison.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Brent Beebe, 52, of Postville, pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to commit document fraud as part of a plea agreement with the government. In the plea, Beebe admitted that he conspired with former vice president Sholom Rubashkin and others a week before the May 12, 2008, immigration raid at the plant to buy fake identification documents for 19 employees.
Chief Judge Linda Reade sentenced Beebe to the maximum prison time according to the guideline range. She said Beebe waited to plead guilty until after Rubashkin was convicted and other managers pleaded guilty, and he didn’t cooperate with the government as the other managers.
“It’s clear he was aware of the situation because of his actions on the eve of the immigration raid,” Reade said.
He attempted to circumvent the law by participating in getting fraudulent documents to the workers, Reade said. Officials of Agriprocessors knew the company was a likely target as immigration agents were preparing for the raid, she said.
Beebe admitted at the January hearing to obtaining $4,500 in cash from Rubashkin to pay for the documents. A line supervisor used the money to buy the documents, which were delivered to Agriprocessors on May 11. The documents were used to complete new application paperwork.
Beebe declined to speak at the hearing.
Ray Scheetz, Beebe’s attorney, asked the court for a downward variance in the guideline range to give Beebe probation. Beebe’s lack of criminal history doesn’t warrant the maximum prison time.
“Mr. Beebe is a candidate for probation because he has been under supervision for 20 months now with no problems,” Scheetz said. “I would ask for probation with two years of supervised release.”
Scheetz said Hershey Friedman, CEO of Agri Star, formerly Agriprocessors, wrote a letter to the court in support of Beebe and his character. Friedman said the beef side of the company would suffer if Beebe, who remained beef operations manager for Agri Star, had to leave his job to serve a prison term, Scheetz said.
Scheetz said Beebe also cared for his employees and always tried to help them whether it be in a financial way or otherwise.
This spells out BAD news for SMR. Its seems like the judge will go for maximum sentence for SMR too. Sad day for AGRI
It’s not looking good for Rubashkin. Maybe what happens in the child labor trial will be irrelevant, as he’ll wind up spending a long time in prison.
“Chief Judge Linda Reade sentenced Beebe to the maximum prison time according to the guideline range” I hope and pray she does nor give the Max to SMR. She is a harsh Judge and gives long sentences If the guidelines allow. Please keep on davening for Sholom Mordechai ben Rivkah
that isn’t a bad sentence compared to others in extremely similar situations.
“he didn’t cooperate with the government as the other managers.” RESPECT!!!
I think this is all about the sentencing that she is preparing for smr . she is giving this manager the maximum so she can dish out the maximum for smr thus shielding herself from people claiming that smr is being singled out . nebach
Great. The man pleads guilty to a first time offense in his 52-yr life and get a maximum sentence. One may only hope that the wellwishers who lamented that SMR did not plead guilty l’chatchila will now see the light… or may be not.
Friedman wrote a letter to Judge for his own sake never before wrote any letter to judge regarding SMR
This Judge does not have even 1 ounce of mercy in her
Bitchu bashem! be strong! and keep on davening!!!
Sorry MR ceo !! That’s why the company lost recently all top official starting with top mangers to local sales person! Afraid to be identify with Agri its a main target and shame you bought it
It serves no purpose to libel the judge at this time for she was not the prosecutor or committed the alleged acts of SMR. What is curious is that he is still working and has been at AGRI? The judge
in her wisdom will wiegh many factors(the immigration is not part of SMR’s case ) only in the fraud case.
The defense has asked for a six year sentence and the prosecution has gone from Life to 25 years
(in effect also a life sentence!) request. I believe the judge will take into account all the circumstances and SMR’s other qualities and a father of ten children.
YISROEL BETACH B’Hashme-Ezrom umogeenom hu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let us daven in unison, those who believe in SMR’s innocence and those who believe in his Guilty conviction that the judge will have compassion and do the right thing taking into account all the circumstances and facts she has a right to do.
And we can all go on with our live and hurry Moshiach to come out of a renewed achdus.
If one of you had a kid who worked in this factory, under these conditions, you’d say this guy should be put away for life. I think the judge is doing a great job with a difficult case. I believe she’ll make a just decision. Stop vilifying her and the employees. You’re willing to blame everybody but the one who is to blame. Luckily (for justice) the state of Iowa and the US gov’t aren’t so silly.
BS”D
Congress has already made it a crime to withhold documents from an alien under
18 U.S.C. § 1592, this should be deemed as amending the prior criminal statutes on the topic, such that document fraud allegations must show intent to harm the alien, not help them as refugees with a job in religious work producing Noahide and kosher meats as permitted by 7 USC 1902 and 1906. Moreover the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that secular laws may not restrict free exercise of religion to hire foreign religious workers, see McDANIEL v. PATY, 435 U.S. 618 (1978) , also l’havdil, 143 U.S. 457 (1892). It is quite normal for minors in America to engage in activities with knives such as slaughtering animals, especially in rural America, so it is not reasonable to consider a slaughterhouse particularly dangerous for minors. In any case a Bes Shechita is a religious facility pursuing a religious vocation and religious occupation, and cannot be governed by our Congress consonant with the first amendment. My late grandfather of blessed memory taught us to skin fish at a very tender age, and it helped ensure we had better fine motor skills, etc.
Re Libel Per Se by Foster Law Firm and Vos Iz Neias
http://www.fosterpc.com/the-obama-justice-dept-is-not-enforcing-the-laws-against-hiring-illegal-immigrants/
The actual killing and processing of livestock was done, as the nation learned in 2008, by a workforce of Guatemalan and Mexican illegal immigrants using fake identity documents.
http://www.vinnews.com/51144/2010/03/12/postville-ia-why-did-obama-administration-drop-immigration-charges-against-agriprocessors’/
BS”D
Surely Vos Iz Neias can advise Howard Foster, Esq., that shechita is performed by the Shochet, for kosher shechita this means by a Jew. To accuse Rubashkin’s
as Howard Foster’s lawfirm website and Vos Iz Neias does, of having the nicht Yidden perform the shechting, is to accuse them of selling not kosher meats as kosher
all in violation of the New York State laws in this regard. Thus the Rabbi in charge of kosher sales in NY has jurisdiction to compel the attendance of Rabbi Sholom Rubashkin shlit”a by
writ of subpoena or habeas corpus ad testificandum, to confirm whether Howard Foster and Vos Iz Neias have published libel in respect to their alleged violations by Agriprocessors etc.
of New York’s kosher sales laws. Rabbi Weiss shlit”a should request the US District Court in NY or in Iowa to command the presence of Rabbi Sholom Rubashkin shlit”a to the custody of
Rabbi Weiss shlit”a pending an in-depth investigation of this important matter which would means thousands of Yidden consumed not kosher meats as alleged by Vos Iz Neias and Howard Foster Esq. in
furtherance of the PETA plan to end kosher slaughter as part of their conspiracy against the civil rights of kosher consumers. Naturally Rabbi Weiss shlit”a will need to compel the testimony of all the deported workers
and other workers to individually ascertain whether each and any worker engaged in shechita or whether the Shochetim engaged in the shechita.
Also is Howard a Yid, would he agree to Bes Din before the cRc in these matters? What about Vos Iz Neias, is this also run by a Yid? Can one (for example a nicht Yid) sue them in the Bnei Noach courts?
If halachah forbids complaint to Rabbi Luzer Weiss shlit”a in this matter, then kindly advise, if not, then the Rabbi will kindly begin investigation the dramatic lashon hara claims of Howard Foster and Vos Iz Neias
that the shechita at Agriprocessors was in violation of the claims in NY that the product was kosher produced, and thus the accusation is libel per se, as the claim is made on the internet that the products were
not kosher, but were shechita Nokhri.
Hatzlocho vliBrocho,
Dr. Paul Maas Risenhoover
Palau Meatworkers League
Rosh Vaad, Vaad HaKashrus HaChosidei Umos HaOlom, of the Yeshiva Bnai Noah of the Bnai Noah Religious Society
Executive Director and Robin Hood of the Robin Hood International Human Rights Legal Defense Fund
27-1 Yu Nung Rd. 5th Fl. 1-2, 5A3, East District, American Formosa 70184, USA
Is she a conservative or a liberal?