Judge drops some charges in slaughterhouse case

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed dozens of immigration violations against the former manager of kosher slaughterhouse in Iowa.

Former Agriprocessors Inc. manager Sholom Rubashkin was set to face 72 immigration violations at a trial to start Dec. 2. Prosecutors asked U.S. District Court Judge Linda Reade on Thursday to dismiss the charges, and she agreed in an order filed hours later.

Rubashkin was convicted of 86 financial fraud charges last week. The financial and immigration charges followed a massive immigration raid at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa, in May 2008.

Reade has not yet set a sentencing date for Rubashkin's financial fraud conviction. He has pleaded not guilty, and his attorneys say they will appeal.