Rubashkin family
Encyclopedia
The Rubashkin family is a family of American ultra-Orthodox Jews
of the Lubavitcher
Hasidic
movement of Brooklyn
, New York
, headed by Aaron Rubashkin
. Members of the family were or are active in various family business
es, most of them in the family's main business, kosher meat
, for which they earned the title "kosher meat dynasty". The tight-knit family has been influential in its local area and is well known among religious Jews for its generosity towards Jews and Jewish causes.
Some of the family's activities have been controversial, and a few of its members have been the subject of legal investigations and convictions.
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
of the Lubavitcher
Chabad
Chabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...
Hasidic
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
movement of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, headed by Aaron Rubashkin
Aaron Rubashkin
Abraham Aaron Rubashkin, or Aaron Rubashkin, an ultra-Orthodox Jew of the Lubavitcher hasidic movement born in the Russian town Nevel in the former Soviet Union, is the owner of a kosher butcher shop in Brooklyn, New York, opened in 1953...
. Members of the family were or are active in various family business
Family business
A family business is a business in which one or more members of one or more families have a significant ownership interest and significant commitments toward the business’ overall well-being....
es, most of them in the family's main business, kosher meat
Kashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
, for which they earned the title "kosher meat dynasty". The tight-knit family has been influential in its local area and is well known among religious Jews for its generosity towards Jews and Jewish causes.
Some of the family's activities have been controversial, and a few of its members have been the subject of legal investigations and convictions.
Kosher meat
- Rubashkin's, Inc. (established 1953) owned by Aaron Rubashkin, kosher butcher shop in Borough ParkBorough Park, BrooklynBorough Park , is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City in the United States....
, Brooklyn, established as Lieberman & Rubashkin Glatt Kosher Butchers.
- AgriprocessorsAgriprocessorsAgriprocessors was the corporate identity of a slaughterhouse and meat-packaging factory based in Postville, Iowa, best known as a facility for the glatt kosher processing of cattle, as well as chicken, turkey, duck, and lamb. Agriprocessors' meat and poultry products were marketed under the brand...
, Inc. (established 1987, sold in auction July 2009) owned by Aaron Rubashkin, managed by his sons Sholom Mordechai and Heshy Zvi Rubashkin. - Agri-Food Distributors, Inc., founded in 1994, Aaron Rubashkin is listed as president, Sholom and Heshy Zvi Rubashkin are listed as officers.
- Shemesh, Inc., Florida-based company founded in 1999 as a distribution center for Agriprocessors kosher meat products owned by Aaron Rubashkin. Gutol Goldman-Rubashkin, Sholom, Heshy Zvi and Yossi Rubashkin are listed as officers. After failing to file mandated reports with the state in 2005, the company was administratively dissolved. When it was reinstated in 2007, only Sholom Rubashkin was listed as a company officer. An amended report, filed in December 2008, removes him from the company and names Goldman as the sole officer.
- Lagoon Technology, LLC, listed at Agriprocessors' physical address in Postville, was formed in April 2005 to provide reimbursements to the city in connection with agreed upon maintenance of the waste lagoons.
- Best Value, Inc., founded in 2001, Gutol Goldman-Rubashkin, Sholom, Heshy Zvi, and Joseph Rubashkin are listed as officers.
- Best Value Distributors, Inc., formed in 2001, lists Sholom and Heshy Zvi Rubashkin as officers.
- Best Value Food Products, LLC, formed in 2001, lists the same home office as Agriprocessors.
- Cottonballs, LLC, listed at Agriprocessors' physical address in Postville, Iowa, was a poultry firm founded in late 2004 operated by the Rubashkin family.
- Kosher Community Grocery, Inc., set up in May 2005, lists Sholom Rubashkin as president and secretary, and Heshy Zvi Rubashkin as president and treasurer.
- Gemach Mamash Now Corporation, founded in 1996, has Sholom and Heshy Zvi Rubashkin listed as officers. The company provided interest-free loans to Jews.
- Postville Rabbinical Academy, founded in 2000, Sholom and Heshy Zvi Rubashkin are listed as officers.
- Crown Deli (established c. 1960) owned by Aaron Rubashkin, run by his wife Rivka Rubashkin, a restaurant on 13th Avenue in Brooklyn, described as more of a soup kitchenSoup kitchenA soup kitchen, a bread line, or a meal center is a place where food is offered to the hungry for free or at a reasonably low price. Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, they are often staffed by volunteer organizations, such as church groups or community groups...
than a business.
Textile mills
- Cherry Hill Textiles, Inc. (established 1972, dissolved 1997) owned by Aaron Rubashkin and Moshe Rubashkin, managed by Moshe Rubashkin, was a corporation in Brooklyn, New York, engaged in the dyeing and finishing of textiles.
- Montex Textiles Ltd. (established 1989, closed 2001) owned and managed by Moshe Rubashkin, was a textiles bleaching and dyeing company, in Allentown, PennsylvaniaAllentown, PennsylvaniaAllentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...
.
Real estate
- Nevel Properties Corporation, listed at Agriprocessors' post office box and physical address in Postville, Iowa, was registered in the state of Iowa in September 1994. Sholom and Heshy Zvi Rubashkin are listed as officers. Nevel Properties was the deed holder on 85 real estate interests in Postville, and a contract holder in three others in Allamakee County, IowaAllamakee County, Iowa-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 14,330 in the county, with a population density of . There were 7,617 housing units, of which 5,845 were occupied.-2000 census:...
, the deed holder on two properties in Fayette County, IowaFayette County, Iowa-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 20,880 in the county, with a population density of . There were 9,558 housing units, of which 8,634 were occupied.-2000 census:...
, on a commercial property in Clayton County, IowaClayton County, Iowa-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 18,129 in the county, with a population density of . There were 8,999 housing units, of which 7,599 were occupied.-2000 census:...
, and the contract holder on 10 properties in Winneshiek County, IowaWinneshiek County, Iowa-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 21,056 in the county, with a population density of . There were 8,721 housing units, of which 7,997 were occupied.-2000 census:...
. The Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2009. It had estimated liabilities between $1 million and $10 million. Unsecured creditors listed in the filing were primarily utility and service companies, and debts owed to them totaled just over $60,000.- Amereeka Properties LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nevel Properties, registered in the state of Iowa on July 18, 2006. It was listed as the contract holder on eight Postville real estate interests and as the deed holder on two others, purchased on July 1, 2006.
- SFG Corporation, registered in the state of Iowa in 1990 by Charles Kelly, a Postville attorney who was listed as the sole officer and director of the company until 2002, when his name was stricken from the documents and replaced with the names of Sholom and Heshy Zvi Rubashkin. At the same time the principal office was changed to the physical address of the Agriprocessors plant in Postville. The company had one real estate interest, vacant lots within the city of Postville, and a single real estate interest in Clayton County.
- Platinum Rx, LLC, a New Jersey corporation, owned by Rubashkin family, with Sholom Rubashkin, son of Moshe Rubashkin, as director.
- Skyline Industries, Inc., a New York corporation, owned by Rubashkin family, with Sholom Rubashkin, son of Moshe Rubashkin, as director.
- Supreme Realty, LLC, real estate investment and management company, owned by Rubashkin family, with Sholom Rubashkin, son of Moshe Rubashkin, as director.
Legal Problems
Several members of the family and some of the family's companies have faced legal problems.Labor relations
- In 1995, Aaron RubashkinAaron RubashkinAbraham Aaron Rubashkin, or Aaron Rubashkin, an ultra-Orthodox Jew of the Lubavitcher hasidic movement born in the Russian town Nevel in the former Soviet Union, is the owner of a kosher butcher shop in Brooklyn, New York, opened in 1953...
and his son Moshe RubashkinMoshe RubashkinMoshe Rubashkin, , an ultra-Orthodox Jew of the Lubavitcher hasidic movement, is a former Chairman of the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council , a private, nonprofit social service organization in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York that receives $2 million per annum in state funding for community...
were found guilty by the National Labor Relations BoardNational Labor Relations BoardThe National Labor Relations Board is an independent agency of the United States government charged with conducting elections for labor union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of...
(NLRB) for having diverted union dues deducted from Cherry Hill Textiles′ employee wages. According to the NLRB judge, the Textile mill had a "proclivity for violating" the labor law.
- In 2001 Moshe Rubashkin was placed in an Accelerated Rehabilitation Disposition (ARD) program for a period of 18 months for having failed to secure worker′s compensation insurance for employees of Montex Textiles, required by Pennsylvania law.
- In September 2005 workers at Agriprocessors' distribution site in Brooklyn voted to join the United Food and Commercial WorkersUnited Food and Commercial WorkersThe United Food and Commercial Workers International Union is a labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in many industries, including agriculture, health care, meatpacking, poultry and food processing, manufacturing, textile, G4S Security, chemical...
union. The company did not recognize the vote, arguing that it was invalid because many of the workers who participated were in the U.S. illegally, making their votes invalid despite protection granted undocumented workers in the National Labor Relations ActNational Labor Relations ActThe National Labor Relations Act or Wagner Act , is a 1935 United States federal law that limits the means with which employers may react to workers in the private sector who create labor unions , engage in collective bargaining, and take part in strikes and other forms of concerted activity in...
. A National Labor Relations BoardNational Labor Relations BoardThe National Labor Relations Board is an independent agency of the United States government charged with conducting elections for labor union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of...
judge decided against the company and ordered it to recognize the vote.
- In an article in 2006 The Jewish Daily Forward wrote that "AgriProcessors stands out for its poor treatment of workers", many of them undocumented immigrants who were afraid of being fired or deported, and that according to several industry experts Agriprocessors paid the lowest wages of any slaughterhouse in the United States.
- In October 2008, the Iowa Labor Commission fined Agriprocessors $9.99 million for various violations of state labor law, including illegally deducting money from employees for safety equipment and failing to pay employees.
Environmental issues
- In 2008 Moshe Rubashkin was sentenced to 16 months in prison in a toxic waste case at Montex Textiles.
- Sholom Rubashkin, son of Moshe Rubashkin, was sentenced to four months in prison in 2009 for lying to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about the family's role at Montex Textiles site.
Financial Fraud
- In 2002 Moshe Rubashkin was sentenced to 15 months in prison on fraud charges.
- In November 2009, Sholom Mordechai RubashkinSholom RubashkinSholom Mordechai Rubashkin , an ultra-Orthodox Jew of the Lubavitcher Hasidic movement, is a former executive officer and vice president of Agriprocessors, a now-bankrupt slaughterhouse and meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa formerly owned by his father, Aaron Rubashkin...
, son of Aaron Rubashkin, former top manager at Agriprocessors, was convicted of financial fraud, including bank fraud, mail and wire fraud and money laundering, in June 2010, he was sentenced to 27 years in prison. He is currently in federal prison in Otisville, N.Y.Federal Correctional Institution, OtisvilleThe Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville is located in Orange County, New York, USA. The federal prison, which opened in 1977, is a medium security facility, located in the Town of Mount Hope a quarter mile from the Otisville Correctional Facility, a New York medium security prison, thus...
, his case is in appeal.
- On December 16, 2010, U.S. District Judge Edward McManus ordered Aaron, Sholom and Heshy Tzvi Rubashkin to pay Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) nearly $290,000 plus interest for a $300,000 line of credit they received in 2007 for their property rental company Nevel Properties Corp. in Postville from Georgia-based Omni National Bank. The bank, which was shut down by federal regulators soon afterwards, sued the Rubashkins, who had personally guaranteed the $300,000 credit, after they stopped making payments. The judge also ordered Aaron Rubashkin, as former president of Agriprocessors, to pay Value Recovery Group, L.P. nearly $1.8 million plus interest for equipment sold during bankruptcy proceedings that Agriprocessors had formerly rented from Omni National Bank.
Extortion
- Milton BalkanyMilton BalkanyMilton Yehoshua Balkany is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, past director of the Jewish girls′ school Bais Yaakov of Midwood, conservative political activist and fundraiser from Brooklyn, New York, dubbed “the Brooklyn Bundler”....
, son-in-law of Aaron Rubashkin, rabbi, dean of the Bais Yaakov day school in Borough Park, was charged in early 2010 with trying to extort $4 million from a hedge fund. On November 10, 2010, he was found guilty of extortion, blackmail, wire fraud and making false statements in a Federal Court in Manhattan. He was released on a $1 million bond. On February 18, 2011, he was sentenced to four years in prison, and locked up immediately because the judge considered him a flight risk. He was previously charged with theft of Federal grant money, but was not prosecuted.
Sexual molestation
- Yaacov Weiss, son-in-law of Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin, Lubavicher rabbi who established a ChabadChabadChabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...
center in Colonie, New York, and an affiliated Chabad Hebrew School, was indicted in August 2008 with charges of sexual abuse and child endangerment, and pleaded not guilty, calling the charges "100 percent untrue", attributing them to "an individual who has been antagonistic toward Chabad of Colonie from its inception and continues to be envious of continued success". Court papers alleged Weiss sexually abused two boys in 2007. The indictment also alleged that he repeatedly struck one of the boys on the back, "knocking him to the ground and then kicked him in the leg". In a plea bargain reached in January 2010, as his trial was set to begin in Albany CountyAlbany County, New YorkAlbany County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The name is from the title of the Duke of York and Albany, who became James II of England . As of the 2010 census, the population was 304,204...
Court, he admitted to having had "inappropriate physical contact" with two naked boys, and to having told one of them to lie about it to the police and his mother. On March 8, he was sentenced to 60 days in jail and three years' probation, and was released after less than 40 days. Under the plea bargain, Weiss will not be listed in a registry of sex offenders, but he was suspended by Chabad, as soon as the charges were filed.