Charges separated in Iowa slaughterhouse case

DES MOINES, Iowa - A federal judge granted a motion Thursday to sever immigration charges from financial charges against the former manager of a kosher slaughterhouse that was the site of a massive raid by immigration agents last year, ruling a united case would prejudice the jury.

U.S. District Judge Linda Reade in Cedar Rapids issued the ruling in the case against Agriprocessors Inc. and former company official Sholom Rubashkin.

Top managers and the Postville company were indicted months after 389 people were arrested in a May 12, 2008 immigration raid as part of an investigation that began in October 2007.

Attorneys for the company and Rubashkin had argued that presenting all 142 charges facing their clients at once would confuse a jury and make it difficult for the defendants to get a fair trial.

"The court finds that joinder of all 142 counts in a single proceeding would prevent a jury from making a reliable judgment about the guilt or innocence of Defendants Rubashkin and Agriprocessors," Reade wrote in her ruling "The risk of prejudice ... is simply too high."

Rubashkin attorney Guy Cook called the ruling a major victory for his client. Bob Teig, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Cedar Rapids, declined comment.

The government filed the 142-count indictment in May. It replaced a previous indictment, adding 70 counts of harboring and aiding and abetting the harboring of undocumented aliens for profit. It consolidated previously filed charges against Agriprocessors, Rubashkin and three other former plant managers.

The new indictment also charged Rubashkin with conspiracy to commit document fraud, aiding and abetting document fraud, bank fraud, false statements and reports to a bank, money laundering and willful violation of order of secretary of agriculture.

Agriprocessors and top managers also have been accused of violating state and federal laws dealing with child labor, wage requirements and safety rules. The company filed for bankruptcy protection and has been appointed a third-party overseer.

It was announced earlier this week that the president of a Canadian plastics plant and two partners have agreed to buy the struggling Postville plant, pending a bankruptcy hearing.

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