South Dakota – Report: Rubashkin Refused Plea Bargain

South Dakota – The trial of former kosher slaughterhouse executive Sholom Rubashkin began in South Dakota on October 12, though only after a failed effort to reach a plea bargain, according to a close confidant of the defendant.

Rabbi Shea Hecht, a leading Chabad Lubavitch rabbi who has provided support to Rubashkin’s defense, told the Forward that Rubashkin, 49, wanted to strike a plea bargain with the U.S. attorneys to avoid a jury trial.

“There were negotiations — an offer was put on the table,” Hecht said. “He had to refuse the offer because compared to what he did wrong, they were asking for too much. There was no way that a man should give the prime of his life away.”

Hecht would not discuss the terms that Rubashkin would have accepted — but he did say that Rubashkin was willing to serve a prison term in order to strike a bargain. Hecht met with Rubashkin in person when the court gave Rubashkin permission to visit New York for the Jewish high holidays. Rubashkin has otherwise been out on bail in Iowa. Hecht said that when Rubashkin visited Hecht’s New York office, he expressed a desire to deal with the charges.

“He said, ‘Listen, things were done wrong, but not what they are claiming,’” Hecht said. “He was very confident.”

The United States attorney’s office that is prosecuting Rubashkin would not say whether a plea bargain had been discussed.

A lawyer for Rubashkin, Guy Cook, also would not comment. Rubashkin has pleaded not guilty to all 163 counts.