Waterloo, IA – Day 2 of Rubashkin Trial: Worker Testimony Continues

    64

    Former Agriprocessors employee Marcos A. Guerra points to his 10th-grade photograph in the Postville High School yearbook for Iowa Assistant Attorney General Laura Roan, left, during Sholom Rubashkin's child labor trial at the Black Hawk County Courthouse on Tuesday, May 11, 2010, in Waterloo, Iowa.Waterloo, IA – Among the mountains of bogus immigration records and job applications with fake names and birthdays in the case against Sholom Rubashkin, the two documents prosecutors keep coming back to are yearbooks.

    Join our WhatsApp group

    Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email


    Testimony in the state’s child labor case against the former Agriprocessors’ executive continued this Tuesday with a parade of former workers taking the stand.

    And each time, prosecutors for the Iowa Attorney General’s Office pulled out Postville High School yearbooks.

    One is titled “2007: Cruisin Through” and the other is marked “2007-2008: Life isn’t always black and white.”

    Prosecutors flipped through the tomes to find the thumb sized black-and-white photos of the witness sandwiched between other shots of smiling students.

    On the stand, teenagers told the jury how they quit school to take jobs at the meatpacking plant.

    “I owed money in Guatemala … the expense incurred to come over here,” Marcos Guerra Garcia, who left after reaching the ninth grade, testified through an interpreter.

    The stories were similar. Sometimes they used fake names on their applications, sometimes they used their own. But always they submitted forged resident alien cards they purchased in town. Always they gave fake dates of birth, pretending to be older than they were.
    Sholom Rubashkin, left, talks with defense attorney Montgomery Brown before the beginning of testimony in his child labor  trial at the Black Hawk County Courthouse on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 in Waterloo, Iowa. (The Des Moines Register, Christopher Gannon)
    Johel Rucal, now 17, said his sister dropped out first to help pay the debt his mother owed to smugglers who brought the family over the border. He said he quit in the eighth grade and paid $150 to get an ID that said he was 21. He was really 14.

    He said his mom didn’t want him to work there, but it was his decision.

    Rucal talked about his job weighing boxes, cutting up turkeys and mixing chemicals in a barrel.

    In other testimony, Luther “Don” Peddy, a public service executive with Iowa OSHA, told jurors about dry ice, anhydrous ammonia and other chemicals used in Agriprocessors.

    Dry ice is about 110 degrees below zero and can freeze flesh instantly, Peddy said. Anhydrous ammonia is used in the cooling system, although under cross-examination, he explained it says inside of pipes unless there is an accidental leak.

    Testimony is expected to continue Wednesday with more former child workers taking the stand. The trial is scheduled to last three weeks.

    Earlier, a former Agriprocessors supervisor said he told managers and executive Sholom Rubashkin that there were minors working at the company Postville meatpacking plant.

    Matthew Derrick, 41, who worked for years in other slaughterhouses before coming to Agriprocessors in August 2006, was the state’s first witness as Rubashkin’s child labor trial resumed this morning (Tuesday).

    “I had more children working on the cut up floor than I had adults,” Derrick told jurors.
    Shalom Rubashkin, right, looks at photos of Ana Lopez with Defense Attorney Mark Weinhardt during the prosecutions open statement of the child labor charges trial at the Black Hawk County Courthouse on May, 10, 2010, in Waterloo, Iowa. (RICK TIBBOTT / Courier Staff Photographer)
    Rubashkin is charged with 83 counts of child labor violations in state court. Prosecutors alleged teens worked with dangerous chemicals and power-driven equipment between 2007 and a May 2008 immigration raid.

    Derrick talked about meeting a 12-year-old boy on the Agriprocessors floor. He said it broke his heart. He wanted to take the child into his home and help him get citizenship and go to college.

    “He was very bright,” Derrick said.

    Derrick testified that he told plant managers Gary Norris and Brent Beebe about the minors and was told to mind his own business.

    Derrick said he also brought up the matter with Rubashkin once during a meeting after he approached the executive about a boot that had been placed on his vehicle in the company parking lot.

    After talking about the vehicle, according to Derrick’s account, Derrick told Rubashkin that everyone in his area was exhausted from working long hours and that there were children in the plant.

    Derrick said he told Rubashkin some of the employees were “too young to be doing the job.”

    “He didn’t seem to want to solve the problem,” Derrick said. He said the conversation occurred in Rubashkin’s office, and no one else was involved.

    Under cross-examination by defense attorney Mark Weinhardt, Derrick said he didn’t tell U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors at the plant about the minors. Nor did he tell any government investigators about it until months after the May 2008 immigration raid.

    He also said he didn’t disclose his conversation with Rubashkin during initial interviews with investigators.

    Defense attorney Montgomery Brown asked the court to declare a mistrial after Derrick mentioned that he and his family had been the subject of threats. He also asked for a mistrial because Derrick talked about an email that was allegedly distributed to him, Beebe and Rubashkin.

    The e-mail, which the defense said had never been verified, allegedly came from the human resources department and asked Derrick to take workers to a Postville restaurant to get fake work documents.

    Judge Nathan Callahan declined to declare a mistrial and asked jurors to disregard Derrick’s statements about the threats.

    Other witnesses this morning included:

    Alvero David Ajin Garcia, who had worked at the plant before he turned 18,

    Luther “Don” Peddy, an official with Iowa OSHA, who talked about the dangers of chemicals at the plant.


    Listen to the VINnews podcast on:

    iTunes | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Podbean | Amazon

    Follow VINnews for Breaking News Updates


    Connect with VINnews

    Join our WhatsApp group


    64 Comments
    Most Voted
    Newest Oldest
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments
    ch
    ch
    13 years ago

    Gosh in heaven! Rachmonos! When will we see the light   the end of the tunnel already!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    So all those gangsters fake their docs n ages, n instead they should go to jail, there using this against r’ shulem
    Unfair

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    I don’t understand this – if they bought fake IDs with “older” birthdates why is Sholom responsible for them as minors. They proved their age by ID.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    give those thugs work and they testify against you animals

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    I had the same question, but I think the prosecution believes it was/should have been clear to him that something fishy was going on, the same way they Derrick claims/says he saw 12 year olds working in the plant. Again, not sure what the legal standard for liability is, but I think that’s the situation. By the way, as a layman, I think there is a concept of strict liability for statutory rape, not sure if it’s a good comparison.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    This is a malchis resha!! You’re not alowed to profile. Illegal immigrants are not so bad these days. But if a JEW SMR hired them he should have scrutinized, profiled them. Anti-semitisim america 2010 ! But all employers out there , please- don’t mistreat your workers , it might come back to haunt you.But, where in the world is a worker treated well in a shlacthoiz?. Its rough work!

    hear nur
    hear nur
    13 years ago

    Wait, wait. Soon we’ll see some comments about the poor exploited kids.
    If the parents of these kids would be ultra-Orthodox/Chareidim/Chassidish (take your pick) then boy would we hear about this. These “human rights”, “animal rights” and dinah d’malchusah’niks who conveintly skirt the fact that these kids and their parents have broken numerous laws, would have a feild day were the illegals would these people be Chassidish/Yeshivish instead of Guatamalans. Boy oh boy oh boy.
    I could just imagine all the posts here would be something like this : “These parents who put their kids in danger are hiding behind their beards/shaitlich/shpitzlach! They’re fakers” “Dinah d’malchusa dinah-they’ve faked the papers!” “They’re leeches who don’t work and send they’re kids to do the dangerous work” and on and on and on. BOY WOULD THERE BE RANTING, RAVING, AND BASHING WOULD THESE GUATAMALANS WEAR BLACK HATS.
    Now since these people are NOT Chareidim, there’s not a peeps against them from you self rightous “human rights” people . ONLY YOUR BROTHER, THE JEW CAN YOU BASH!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    so much anti semitism in this case its not even funny

    smugglers
    smugglers
    13 years ago

    We all know what would happen if the illegal would not pay bacl his smuggler. Now that the dept of justice knoes of this smuggler will they do anything?

    what evidence
    what evidence
    13 years ago

    What funny evidence, yearbooks (how was anyone in the company supposed to have access), chemicals that are in pipes (that has nothing to do with underage employees), unverified emails, and the conversation where mr rubashkin is told about underage workers. I just can imagine the conversation: Mr Rubashkin, I am so upset there is a boot on my car and underage workers in this facility. Please fix one of those???

    j'acuse
    j'acuse
    13 years ago

    This trial is so bogus, ot meets the likes of dreyfus, beilis. And now we can ad rubashkin to the list.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    sick, sick, sick, we need moshiach, even America is against us….

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    If Derrick was so heartbroken that he wanted to take the “illegal minor immigrant” who presented faulse ID, to his house and enroll him in college, why didn’t he do so??
    He’s a faker from top to bottom, and I hope the Judge recognizes his crocodile tears and doesn’t get too emotional!
    Wake up Yiddelech, we’re in Galus, this entire Rubashkin is run by KGB, USA.
    They create a crime, cause a company to go bankrupt, make the bank lose millions of dollars and then prosecute the victim.
    We are still hysterical about the 3 Bochurim who are jailed in “Japan”, and are
    now witnessing such atrocious injustice in the country where a person is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, and guilty is supposed to mean, when it is proven that the accused “intended” to do the crime.
    Corruption, Corruption, Corruption!!
    Hashem doesn’t want us to be so snug in galus, he wants us to storm the heavens and pray for Moshiach!!!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    You have no idea how inhumane the raiders were to all these workers. they did far worse. After being arrested for over a month they deported them while leaving behind alot of their belongings, car etc.. During the raid workers hid in the machines and frieezers. I am not sure if one froze to death or did he recover. They should be put to trial for sure. How openly can they practise this anti semitism??No one here is to blame but smr, This is totally unreal

    Fair and Equal Justice
    Fair and Equal Justice
    13 years ago

    The prosecution thinks it’s a joke playing around with someones life like this. Don’t forget God is watching.

    These kids & parents should be jailed!
    These kids & parents should be jailed!
    13 years ago

    Why are these kids not in juvenile jail?! And their parents in jail for aiding and abetting?! They are hearby swearing to have forged illegal documents and are in this country by smuggling?! What is wrong?

    OSHA
    OSHA
    13 years ago

    And what did OSHA do (if there were such dangerous chemicals)?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    moshiach will not come because of your woes. when rov klall yisroel will ask for moshiach for reasons we should want moshiach then …see rambam ‘tsuvah 9,2’

    Not looking good
    Not looking good
    13 years ago

    Of course nobody can predict what a jury will do, but from the testimony yesterday (I read all of it) it’s clear that SMR knew that children were being overworked and exploited, as well as put into dangerous situations without the proper training and gear. It’s terrible, what happens when people find ways to make more money without caring about our fellow man.

    Mentch
    Mentch
    13 years ago

    For those who are alleging that the Iowa state trial is “a fraud, a sham, and a blood libel”, perhaps you feel the same way about the recently concluded federal trial. In other words, the Government fabricated all of the evidence regarding the bank fraud, and is now doing the same thing at the state level, pertaining to the undocumented minor workers, who had to work very long hours, and with dangerous chemicals. If a gentile was on trial for the same charges, you would want the book thrown at the individual. However, in this case, just because the defendant is a Chassid, many individuals feel that he is being persecuted, and the charges are bogus and unfair. Nearly 100 years ago, in 1911, there was another case, where Jewish employers forced their underage employees to work long hours in sweat shops, under deplorable working conditions. In fact, they locked them in their factory, so they couldn’t take any breaks. The result was the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory disaster, in which over 100 young people had to jump to their deaths from a 10 story building, as the result of a fire which started at the factory. This entire episode is a shanda!!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    If I would be defense team I would profile pictures of north Korean people to proof that third world country people can look young even if they are older due to malnourished.

    hear nur
    hear nur
    13 years ago

    Show me even one pro-Rubashkin comment that denies that he comitted bank fraud! You will find none. All we want is true justice. There is no precedent case where a person comitted bank fraud and the prosecutors asked for a LIFE sentence and nowhere next to 25 years either. The people who were found guilty of bank fraud got away with a fine and one person got a sentence of one year in prison. That’s all we’re saying -true justice is not being served.
    HE DID NOT STEAL. He was paying back the until the gov. forced him to go into bankruptcy.
    Why are you mixing in the triangle shirt factory? Are you doing that because your case against Rubashkin’s hiring minors is too weak?
    AGAIN NOBODY FORCED THESE KIDS TO FORGE THEIR DOCUMENTS AND COME WORK FOR RUBASHKIN.

    hear nur
    hear nur
    13 years ago

    What would happen if Rubashkin’s hiring staff decided not to hire a person who they felt faked his age on his document. Say the person looked like a sixteen year old, but the person truly was 18 years of age? A lot of these illegals look younger than their age because they are built short.
    Going the other way, rejecting someone because they look too young, but they are not a minor, wouldn’t that be discrimination?
    Rejecting someone for a job based on their looks is the ultimate in discrimination!

    Emes
    Emes
    13 years ago

    #23 is correct
    In my discussions w SMR he admitted that he spent most of his day working on obtaining more shelf-space – sales. From workers I heard he was rarely in the plant. In fact, Aron on his monthly visits to Agri spent more time in the plant than Shalom. Heshy dealt w day-to-day operations in the plant. If there is something wrong with this trial it is that Heshy and Aron aren’t in the box with Shalom.
    BTW, a tip-off that a kid was too young to work in the plant might have been – that he wasn’t old enough to shave! If a bouncer at a bar is good enough to catch fake id’s and underage kids, you’d think a competent HR person would be at least as competent.
    It is clear from testimony thus far – which has not been rebutted – that SMR knew he had underage kids working in the plant and didn’t care.
    Ignorance of the law is no excuse. That SMR was in over his head, is not an excuse.

    sha'ar hagilgulim
    sha'ar hagilgulim
    13 years ago

    would you happen to be a gilgul of one of those evil Jewish owners of the Shirtwaist Factory and you are now doing your tikkun in oilom haze? Is that why you keep bringing up that story that has no relevance or connection whatsoever to what is being discussed here? How is that tragic story a sensible response to the “individuals [who] feel that he is being persecuted, and the charges are bogus and unfair “??

    Mentch
    Mentch
    13 years ago

    In answer to Mr. Hear-Nur- The reason that I mentioned the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory disaster of 1911 is that was another case of a Jewish employer(s), who forced his employees to work under sub-human conditions in a sweatshop. Incidentally, I forgot to mention that most of the victims who jumped to their deaths were young Jewish girls.
    Also, regarding the bank fraud which the defendant was convicted of, you seem minimize the seriousness of the Government’s case, against the now convicted defendant. There is no way that a mere fine and/or a year’s jail time and probation will suffice in this case. Once a case of this nature reaches the magnitude of the level that it has, the Government will not back down. True justice would have transpired, if the transgressions had never taken place to begin with. A shanda!

    simple question
    simple question
    13 years ago

    Could someone please explain this alleged pogrom to me?

    If this entire case is simply anti-semitism against an innocent victim, why in the world would the government, prosecutors, court system, ICE, etc. all go to the trouble and expense they have gone through to imprison one single person so publicly?

    If this were such a sophisticated conspiracy, wouldn’t it have been quicker, simpler and cheaper to plant drugs on him, for example? Why go to all this trouble and expense and time to go through a sham of trials and sentencing if it was a setup?

    Why would it be worth so much to ANYONE to fake this prosecution to put one single man in jail falsely? Can anyone explain this?

    bias
    bias
    13 years ago

    The very first opening of this article is written to mislead.

    “Among the mountains of bogus immigration records and job applications with fake names and birthdays in the case against Sholom Rubashkin”

    Those words make it sound as if the bogus immigration records, etc, were Rubashkin’s doing.

    Simliarly in yesterday’s article it mentioned the young mother who burst out crying, but they at first made it sound like she was crying about how she was treated at the plant, only later in the article do we discover it was about how she was treated by the AUTHORITIES during the raid!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    This is literally a blood libel. The equipment and chemicals despicted are standard for the meat industry. The industry is on trial– and Rubashkin is taking the rap!

    Dave
    Dave
    13 years ago

    Here is a quote from Jeff Reinitz’s blog – May 11 from the courtroom

    3:56 Jeff Reinitz:
    “Weinhardt arguing about the accumulative nature of testimony about eyes burning and noses running from exposure to chemicals …”

    3:59 Jeff Reinitz:
    “Judge Callahan said it all sounds like standard operations in a meat packing plant.”

    am i understanding this correctly: The judge is suggesting that what the prosecutors are constantly emphasizing – itchy/burning eyes & running nose etc. – is nothing outrageous just “standard operations in a meat packing plant.”?

    if so, what is all this outrage how Rubashkin “abused” children. THEY came to work, with false papers claiming they are older (because they desperately needed the money), their parents and relatives + the school KNOW that they are working, and actually HELP them get the job, now Sholom Rubashkin is the “vicious” criminal….

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    One comment: The whole country is up in arms if we c”v send back illeagals, but if we actually hire them once they’re here so they won’t have to steal we get prosocuted!?