United States Attorney’s Office

Northern District of Iowa

United States Attorney Stephanie M. Rose

LETTER TO THE EDITOR For further information contact:

Bob Teig
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (319) 363-6333
Date: June 22, 2010 Cedar Rapids, Iowa

On June 22, 2010, Sholom Rubashkin was sentenced to 27 years in prison. That
closed another chapter involving the May 12, 2008, U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement worksite enforcement operation at Postville, Iowa. The time has come to
set the record straight about that day and the following two years.

The small town of Postville relied upon Agriprocessors. Postville was occupied by
residents who benefitted from, and feared the discovery of, hundreds of illegal workers.
Agriprocessors capitalized on fears – workers’ fears of being deported; employees’
fears of revealing lies made to the company’s creditors; and residents’ fears of the
town’s economy crumbling if Agriprocessors’ illegal acts were discovered. The tough
decision was made to go forward with a massive enforcement operation after
consultations at the highest levels of the United States Departments of Justice and
Homeland Security.

May 12, 2008, was a day many will long remember. Hundreds of illegal workers –
compliant and accepting – were charged, provided attorneys, and entered into the
criminal justice system. Tireless agents, U.S. Attorney’s Office employees, defense
attorneys, and court personnel worked around the clock to ensure defendants’ rights
were protected and standards of human decency were met.

By May 22, 2008, 306 illegal workers had pled guilty to their immigration- or
document-related offenses. The prosecution of the illegal workers was complete. The
prosecution of those who preyed upon those workers had just begun.

Over the next 18 months, hundreds of witnesses were interviewed. An intensive

investigation substantiated crimes known in May 2008 and revealed many more
unknown crimes. Steadily, the case against Agriprocessors, Sholom Rubashkin, and
others was built. At each step, a grand jury heard the evidence and returned
indictments charging the crimes. Ultimately, nine lower level Agriprocessors managers
and office employees pled guilty and were sentenced.

After an impartial trial jury heard the evidence and convicted Rubashkin on November
12, 2009, a concerted campaign emerged to paint prosecutors as racists, Nazis, and
zealots. This office followed the law, stood silent in the face of vicious and false
accusations, and worked to the conclusion of the case. Silence is no longer in order.

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First, claims from people not involved in the May 2008 enforcement action about what
supposedly occurred in Postville and Waterloo have been ill-informed and false. Agents
were not clad in riot gear. There was no military operation. The single helicopter on the
scene was equipped only for surveillance and to provide medical evacuation should
there have been a need. During their short time at the National Cattle Congress
grounds, the illegal workers were appropriately housed and fed meals catered by
Hy-Vee. They had access to phones, televisions, and other recreational activities.
Their health needs were monitored and attended. Those who identified themselves as
sole care givers of children were immediately released. A representative from the
Guatemalan consulate inspected the grounds and found no shortcomings in how the
workers were treated. The fact that some detractors have made false claims of
prodding people down cattle chutes and other imagined abuses says more about those
detractors’ personal agendas than it does about the real events in May 2008.

Second, the enforcement action was critical to the successful prosecution of Rubashkin
and other management employees at Agriprocessors. These cases could not have
been effectively prosecuted if the illegal workers had not been arrested and detained.
Not one unarrested illegal worker ever came forward to assist law enforcement.

Third, Rubashkin absolutely personally profited from his crimes. The jury never found
otherwise. Uncontroverted evidence at trial showed that, during just the two years
immediately preceding May 2008, Rubashkin funneled about $1.5 million from
Agriprocessors’ accounts to his personal bank accounts. Hundreds of thousands of
those dollars paid his personal credit card bills, remodeled his home, paid his taxes,
paid his personal mortgage, bought jewelry and silver, and made his car payments.

Fourth, claims Rubashkin’s religious beliefs led to his prosecution have no foundation.
His faith had nothing to do with his crimes, prosecution, or punishment.

Finally, various interest groups and people evidently seeking personal notoriety have
hijacked the true facts of this case for their own purposes. It is impossible to address
the mountain of false information that has found its way into the public arena. But the
jury found the truth – that Rubashkin knowingly employed illegal workers and committed
a $26 million bank fraud. He is a common criminal who committed uncommon crimes.

Stephanie M. Rose
United States Attorney