The 23-year-old daughter of former kosher slaughterhouse executive Sholom Rubashkin is planning to wed this week, and her older sister is hoping their father — serving a 27-year prison sentence for financial fraud — will be in attendance.
“I’m hoping for a miracle like the splitting of the Red Sea,” said Roza Hindy Weiss, 30, of the Albany suburb of Colonie.
“My family has always been very close and in some ways this [arrest and conviction] has brought out a tremendous faith in God,” she continued during an interview at The Jewish Week offices. “I’m not going to lie to you — this has been a terrible thing that nobody should go through.”
Rubashkin, whose prison term Weiss said is tantamount to a life sentence, since he is already 53, has few options other than miracle at this point. His legal appeals have all failed, and the U.S. Supreme Court in October declined to review his term.
He was convicted of a scheme to defraud his company’s banker out of $27 million by submitting false invoices that inflated the value of the company.
His arrest followed a much-publicized raid on his Agriprocessors plant by immigration authorities to arrest 389 illegal immigrants. Rubashkin’s lawyers contended that the judge who presided over his case had met with federal authorities to plan the raid and therefore could not be impartial.
Weiss said the severity of the prison sentence is greater than sentences given to some murderers and noted that her father had never before been in trouble with the law. She said that another man who had committed the exact same fraud in another matter was sentenced to a year and a day in prison.
Asked why her father continued to insist on his innocence, rather than accept a plea deal, Weiss said she never discussed the case with him.
“He wanted to go to trial, and he believed in the American system — he thought he would get a fair trial,” she said. “But the judge determines what evidence the jury sees … and she was acting as an arm of the prosecutor.
“I feel like my father is the poster boy for flaws in our system. I think it’s our mission to wake up the American people about what the justice system has become. China has one billion more people than we do and we have more people in prison and the highest recidivism rate. … It is my hope that my father’s story will bring about sentencing reform.”
Asked what this ordeal has done to her family, Weiss replied: “It has brought out an amazing strength in both my father and my mother. Both have an extremely strong faith in G-d and do not believe the 27 years will be a reality. I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but I believe it will happen.
And as a daughter, I’m going to do everything I can to advocate for him and open as many doors as I can to free him.”
A very correct and courageous comment.
please show mercy
Please show us Your mercy NOW!!!!!!
they deserve an open miracle, its not too late
נחשננו כצאן לטבח יובל I am certain that if the government were convinced the Jewish community would NOT remain orderly in the face of such an appalling and dreadful miscarriage of justice they would have found a way to doctor the sentence handed down after the verdict. Does anyone believe for a moment that if a similar sentence was rendered upon someone from the minority communities that there would be such disregard to the extensive pleas made to the Justice Department. OF COURSE NOT!!! They would be expecting or actually witnessing upheaval throughout our cities and soon after the Justice… Read more »
‘Todah’ for writing.
“…What a EVIL miscarriage of “justice” this whole…”
Perpetrated by an anti-American judge, prosecutor, etc. May they all receive a quick and just punishment. 2,700 years in jail.
America NOW!
America is now the 7th country in the world re: administration of justice. America is NOW, according to ‘The Economist,’ the 16th country in the world one would want to live in (In 1988 we were first).
http://www.economist.com/news/21566430-where-be-born-2013-lottery-life?fsrc=scn/tw/te/tr/thelotteryoflife
We are praying for you . Every father should be there on their child’s wedding.
i hope by the next time collive posts something it will be about about rabbi rubashkin COMING OUTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. say hi to moishy and to mendel and to everybody from me. mazal tov mazal tov
May the chossen -kalleh have many, many occasions to rejoice together with all family members from both beautiful families. re: to Sholom Mordcheh’s sentence: Somehow, I too don’t believe it will actually happen. Sometime, sooner than later -and it couldn’t be soon enough- things will iy”h change for the better. What a sick miscarriage of “justice” this whole situation is. P.S.Rosie, You handled that newspaper interview well, under the circumstances. PPS: “Defraud” the bank? Sure, he shouldn’t have inflated his income but he was making payments on the loan, for heaven’s sake, until the marsha’as had the plant shut down;… Read more »
WE ALL LOVE YOU AND ARE DAVENING FOR YOUR FATHER TO BE RELEASED IMMIDIATELY, SO HE CAN DANCE AT YOUR WEDDING IYH!!
A Binyan Adei Ad and all the Brochos!!
Moshiach Now!!
We are davening for you,, may you give your father and all of Klal yisroel incredible amounts of nachas as you build your binyan adei ad, together with your father, and the rest of your family.
Justice doesn’t suck, false justice, like this sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This case is so sad and unfair, it makes me cry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Right when I came onto collive, I thought it said “Rubashkin Home”, and was about to scream that he’s home. But then I saw what it really said… I guess my eyes are playing tricks on me since I’m waiting and I know that any second collive will instead have “Rubashkin Released for Good!” Sholom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivkah will DEFINITELY be by the wedding tomorrow iyh!!! We just have to daven extra hard to Hashem!!
MAZAL TOV MUSHKA!! I LOVE YOU!!!
By this judgement of 27 years, Weberman should get 403 years
US JUSTICE SUCKS!
oy hashem come alredy!
MAY THE LORD SHINE UPON YOUR FACE AND LET YOU SHOLOM COME OUT OF JAIL FOR YOUR DAUGHTER’S WEDDING — MAY THE SIMCHADIK DANCING OF SHOLOM RUBASHKIN AND Y.Y. ZALTZMAN PENETRATE THE HEAVENS ONCE AND FOR ALL AMEN AMEN AMEN>>> FREEDOM FREEDOM FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May we merit to see miracles…kimay tzeischa mayeretz mitzrayim arenu niflaos.
#9, it was not Bernie who was let out for a Bar Mitzvah it was his brother whose start of his sentence in prison was delayed by a few days so he could attend a grandaughter’s Bat Mitzvah. AFAIK.
May SMR see yeshuos b’karov!
i tohought the wedding is on sunday
Solom Morchai halevi Gulo shlemo bkorev mamosh.
He was let out to attend a bar mitzvah recently. One law for that thieving crook & another for a good man like SMR. DISGUSTING.
I wish we’d have known about this earlier, perhaps we could have carried out a campaign
wow!
mazel tov mazel tov
hope everything works out
ur gunna have a ghr8 time and best of luck with everything
miss u xxx
IY”H He’ll be in attendance and hopefully it will be in Yerusholayim with Moshiach!
thought the wedding is tomorrow….
davening that he will surprise everyone 🙂
!!
May Sholom Mordechai have a complete Yeshuah, now, even before his daughters chasunah!
she is getting married tomorrow