October 2, 2012

(JTA) — The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of former Agriprocessors executive Sholom Rubashkin’s conviction and sentence for bank fraud.

The court on Oct. 1 rejected the appeal, which asked the Supreme Court for a new trial, and to shorten his 27-year sentence, which the appeals court upheld as “reasonable.” Rubashkin’s request said it violates federal sentencing laws for a first-time, nonviolent offender.

The court offered no comment alongside its rejection.

In September 2011, the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis denied Rubashkin’s bid for a new trial, in which he presented evidence that the original trial was unfair because of the involvement of Judge Linda Reade of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa in planning the May 2008 federal immigration raid on Agriprocessors, in which 389 illegal immigrants, including 31 children, were arrested. The raid led to the company’s bankruptcy later that year.

Rubashkin, who headed what once was the nation’s largest kosher slaughterhouse and packing plant, located in Postville, Iowa, was convicted on 86 counts of financial fraud in 2009 and sentenced to 27 years in prison. Rubashkin is in a federal prison in New York State.

Click here for complete coverage on the 2012 elections from JTA.

Click to write a letter to the editor.

This article was made possible by the support of readers like you. Donate to JTA now.