Toby Bensasson, former controller at Agriprocessors, said in court today that he had several conversations with Reb Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin in which they spoke of the importance of keeping minors out of the kosher slaughterhouse.
“He and I always agreed – no underage people at the plant,” he said.
Bensasson pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy to make false statements to a bank. He begins a 41-month prison sentence in Duluth, Minn. on Monday. The term was reduced from 60 months because he cooperated in the Agri federal financial fraud trial last fall.
Bensasson said the company would lose its insurance coverage if minors were discovered to be working at the plant.
He said he once confronted a girl under 18 after a human resources employee alerted him to the issue.
“I asked the girl, are you over 18 years old?”
“Then I said, get out, now. This conversation is over.”
When he reported the incident to Reb Sholom Mordechai, Bensasson said he responded, “Very good. We can’t have minors.”
Court is adjourned until Monday morning.
{Des Moines Register/Noam Amdurski-Matzav.com Newscenter}
Things are not looking good