Postville, IA – Rubashkin To be Sentenced to 27 Years

Postville, IA – A former manager of an Iowa kosher slaughterhouse will be sentenced to 27 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $31 million restitution when he’s sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court.

Chief U.S. District Court Judge Linda Reade issued a sentencing memorandum Monday outlining the sentence she will impose on Sholom Rubashkin during Tuesday’s hearing in Cedar Rapids. Reade indicated in the document she would not impose a fine.

A jury found Rubashkin guilty on 86 federal financial fraud charges last fall.

Rubashkin’s attorney Guy Cook says the sentence is unfair and excessive that that Rubashkin’s conviction and sentencing will be appealed.

U.S. attorney spokesman Bob Teig declined comment until the sentence is imposed.

The Hon. Bob Barr announced Monday that Rubashkin will appeal the verdict and the sentence.

“This sentence is inconsistent with the overwhelming view of the legal community, including six former U.S. attorneys general, who have all said a first-time, non-violent offense does not warrant a multi-decade sentence,” Barr said. “The court’s sentence today is even more than prosecutors asked for, which is a very disturbing development.”

Rubashkin’s attorneys had asked the court to impose a sentence no greater than 72 months, noting his positive history and character and his extraordinary family circumstances. They emphasized that Rubashkin’s conduct was not done for personal gain, that he did not intend any loss to the bank, and that a 72-month sentence would allow the Bureau of Prisons to place Rubashkin in a facility with experience in effectively and humanely incarcerating observant Jewish inmates.

Prosecutors, however, recommended 25 years in prison for Rubashkin. The extreme recommendation sparked outrage amongst legal scholars, with more than two dozen former senior Justice Department officials – including six former U.S. attorneys general – criticizing the prosecutors’ recommendation in a letter to Judge Reade. Rubashkin also garnered support from a wide array of political, legal and community leaders, who expressed dismay at the potential for Rubashkin to receive such a harsh sentence.

“It is heartbreaking to see the judge and the prosecution make an example out of Sholom Rubashkin at the expense of his family and his community,” said his wife, Leah. “What has happened today is inconsistent with the idea of equal justice under the law. All we have asked is that he be treated the same as everyone else.”

Rubashkin’s sentence is particularly harsh when compared to others convicted of similar crimes. Mark Turkcan, the president of First Bank Mortgage of St. Louis, who misapplied $35 million in loans, resulting in a loss of approximately $25 million, was recently sentenced by a federal judge in Missouri to one year and one day in prison.

The Rubashkin family and its supporters remain committed to pursuing all avenues towards a fair sentence, including appeal. They continue to call on the Justice Department to investigate the pattern of overzealous prosecution in the Rubashkin case, which included the life sentence recommendation.

“The way this case was handled may go down in history as a permanent stain on American justice,” said Nathan Lewin, an attorney overseeing Rubashkin’s appeal. “Sholom Rubashkin has been targeted by prosecutors in Iowa from the very beginning, and has been treated unlike other similar defendants. We have asked, and continue to ask, the Justice Department to review the numerous instances of prosecutors stepping outside the bounds of standard and decent conduct in this case.”