Wealthy NY Couple Charged With Slavery
The Importing of the Un-American Cultures and Values of Un-American People... well, what do you expect? American's don't really mean it when they pass laws anyway.
May 23, 10:07 PM (ET)
By FRANK ELTMAN
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) - A millionaire couple accused of keeping two Indonesian women as slaves in their luxurious Long Island home and abusing them for years have been indicted on federal slavery charges.
Varsha Mahender Sabhnani, 35, and her husband, Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani, 51, operate a worldwide perfume business out of their home, contracting with overseas factories to manufacture the fragrances.
The two were arrested last week after one of their servants was found wandering outside a doughnut shop on Long Island, wearing only pants and a towel. The woman was believed to have fled the home in Muttontown, a tony community on Long Island's north shore, when she took the trash out the night before.
The couple pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court, and a magistrate judge set bail at $3.5 million and imposed home detention with electronic monitoring.
(AP) Varsha Mahender Sabhnani of Long Island, N.Y., is led out of Nassau County police headquarters in...Full ImageAn indictment handed up Tuesday night formally charged with them with two counts of forced labor and added two counts of harboring illegal residents.
Charles A. Ross, who represents Varsha Sabhnani, has said that the couple traveled extensively and that the two Indonesian women were free to leave whenever they wished. He previously described them as "model citizens" who "only want to clear their names."
Friends and relatives indicated the two would be willing to post bail, but as of Wednesday, they remained in custody.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Demitri Jones called the allegations "truly a case of modern-day slavery."
The women, prosecutors said, were subjected to beatings, had scalding water thrown on them and were forced to repeatedly climb stairs as punishment for perceived misdeeds. In one case, prosecutors said, one of the women was forced to eat 25 hot chili peppers at one time.
One of the women also told authorities they were forced to sleep on mats in the kitchen and were fed so little, they had to steal food.
The women legally arrived in the United States on B-1 visas in 2002; the Sabhnanis then confiscated their passports and refused to let them leave their home, authorities said. Identified in court papers as Samirah and Nona, the women said they were promised payments of $200 and $100 a month, but federal prosecutors said they were never given money directly. One of the victims' daughters living in Indonesia was sent $100 a month, prosecutors said.
They have since been cared for by Catholic Charities, according to a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) - A millionaire couple accused of keeping two Indonesian women as slaves in their luxurious Long Island home and abusing them for years have been indicted on federal slavery charges.
Varsha Mahender Sabhnani, 35, and her husband, Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani, 51, operate a worldwide perfume business out of their home, contracting with overseas factories to manufacture the fragrances.
The two were arrested last week after one of their servants was found wandering outside a doughnut shop on Long Island, wearing only pants and a towel. The woman was believed to have fled the home in Muttontown, a tony community on Long Island's north shore, when she took the trash out the night before.
The couple pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court, and a magistrate judge set bail at $3.5 million and imposed home detention with electronic monitoring.
(AP) Varsha Mahender Sabhnani of Long Island, N.Y., is led out of Nassau County police headquarters in...Full ImageAn indictment handed up Tuesday night formally charged with them with two counts of forced labor and added two counts of harboring illegal residents.
Charles A. Ross, who represents Varsha Sabhnani, has said that the couple traveled extensively and that the two Indonesian women were free to leave whenever they wished. He previously described them as "model citizens" who "only want to clear their names."
Friends and relatives indicated the two would be willing to post bail, but as of Wednesday, they remained in custody.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Demitri Jones called the allegations "truly a case of modern-day slavery."
The women, prosecutors said, were subjected to beatings, had scalding water thrown on them and were forced to repeatedly climb stairs as punishment for perceived misdeeds. In one case, prosecutors said, one of the women was forced to eat 25 hot chili peppers at one time.
One of the women also told authorities they were forced to sleep on mats in the kitchen and were fed so little, they had to steal food.
The women legally arrived in the United States on B-1 visas in 2002; the Sabhnanis then confiscated their passports and refused to let them leave their home, authorities said. Identified in court papers as Samirah and Nona, the women said they were promised payments of $200 and $100 a month, but federal prosecutors said they were never given money directly. One of the victims' daughters living in Indonesia was sent $100 a month, prosecutors said.
They have since been cared for by Catholic Charities, according to a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
posted by jillosophy at 5/24/2007 09:20:00 AM
3 Comments:
i think it was a setup on behalf of those two indonesian women to get legal in america and fleece them of thier money.the so called victims could not see someone in a better position than themso they planed the entire scheme.it is pure jealosy.people coming to america like to get rich the easy way without hard work .
How dare anyone accuse these 2 exploited women of trying to take advantage of these two "slave masters". Lucky for these women these 2 were caught. I hope these slave masters go on televised trial and if found guilty to have the book thrown at them. These slave masters deserve everything thats coming to them. Such self centered selfish arrogant conduct only an evil person could have.
The nerve for these two slave masters to find the American dream only to act so devilish toward innocent, weak, decent, dignified, proud individual whose only crime was to seek work in a country where most people are civilized, fair, and honest. I wish I could speak for just 5 minutes to these two women to express how deeply sorry everyone feel for what have occured to them. As for these slave masters, I wish I am granted just five minutes near an open snake pit, to send them both to be amongst their own kind.
with the facts out so far,i would say you have your head in the sand. either you are related to the accused, or you can't determine right from wrong, based on the article as written. better sober up and see a shrink.
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