U.S. v. Sabhnani

• Decision Date: 11 March 2008
• Docket Number: No. 07-cr-429 (ADS)(WDW).,07-cr-429 (ADS)(WDW).
• Citation: 539 F.Supp.2d 617
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Varsha Mahender SABHNANI and Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York

Page 617

539 F.Supp.2d 617

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Varsha Mahender SABHNANI and Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani, Defendants.

No. 07-cr-429 (ADS)(WDW).

United States District Court, E.D. New York.

March 11, 2008.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Benton J. Campbell, United States Attorney, Eastern District of New York, by Mark Joseph Lesko, Assistant United States Attorney, Demetri M. Jones, Assistant United States Attorney, Central Islip, NY, for Plaintiff.

Hoffman & Pollok LLP, New Yor, NY (Jeffrey C. Hoffman, Susan C. Wolfe, Joanna Eftychiou-Evans, of counsel), for Defendant, Varsha Mahender Sabhnani.

Scaring & Brissenden, P.L.L.C., Garden City, NY (Stephen P. Scaring, Matthew W. Brissenden, of Counsel), for Defendant, Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani.

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER

SPATT, District Judge.

Presently before the Court are motions by Varsha Mahender Sabhnani ("Varsha") and Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani ("Mahender") (collectively, the "Defendants" or the "Sabhnanis") for judgments of acquittal pursuant to Rule 29(c) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure ("Fed. R.Crim.P."). Also before the Court is a motion by Varsha for a new trial pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 33. The Government opposes the motions.

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Indictment

On May 22, 2007, the Defendants were indicted and charged with two counts of forced labor and two counts of harboring aliens in relation to their alleged treatment of two domestic servants from Indonesia, named Samirah and Enung. On September 18, 2007, pursuant to a superseding indictment, the Defendants were charged with: (1) conspiracy to commit forced labor; (2) two counts of forced labor (3) conspiracy to harbor aliens; (4) two, counts of harboring aliens; (5) conspiracy to commit peonage; (6) two counts of peonage; (7) conspiracy to commit document servitude; and (8) two counts of document servitude.

B. The Trial Testimony

On October 29, 2007, the trial commenced. Over the course of the seven week trial, the jurors heard testimony from various witnesses including law enforcement personnel and an employee of the Defendant Mahender. Most importantly, the jurors heard testimony from Samirah and Enung. Although this Court will not now review all of the testimony from this lengthy trial, the Court will discuss the testimony that is relevant to the Defendants' post-trial motions.

Samirah and Enung traveled to the United States from Indonesia to work as domestic servants in the Sabhnani home. In 2002, Mrs. Joti, Varsha's mother, escorted Samirah to the United States. The Defendants met Samirah and Mrs. Joti at the airport and escorted them to the Sabhnani home. Varsha took Samirah's passport and did not return it until April 2007, one year after its expiration. Similarly, Enung arrived in the United States in 2005, escorted by Varsha's sister and brother-in-law. Enung was also met at the airport by Varsha and Mahender. Varsha's sister gave Enung's passport and visa to Varsha. Subsequently, during an authorized search, Enung's documents were found locked in a cabinet in the Sabhnanis' bedroom closet. (Tr. 1048-49,1283-84, 1352, 1681, 1745-49, 2070, 3036, 3047).

Mahender owns a perfume export company and his office was originally located in the Sabhnani home, but then moved to an office physically annexed to the home. Therefore, in reality, Mahender worked at home on a daily basis.

Samirah and Enung do not speak or understand English. During the trial, through interpreters, Samirah and Enung testified regarding their duties; work schedules; and the abuse they suffered. Among other abuses, they testified that they worked from four a.m. through midnight seven days a week; slept on the floor of a kitchen; had no regular days off; and had no contact with outsiders. Further, they testified that they did not have enough food and were forced to eat from the trash. (Tr. 1759, 1760-61, 1823-33, 1828, 1830-31, 1840-42, 2035, 3063-64, 3080-81, 3095). Even more serious abuse occurred to Samirah and Enung, as will now be related.

1. As to the Evidence of Varsha's Conduct

Samirah testified, at length, regarding the abuse she suffered at the hands of Varsha. She testified that the Defendants did not provide her with a sufficient amount of food, and that, out of hunger, she drank milk directly from a container. She further testified that Varsha beat her as punishment for drinking the milk and photographed her drinking milk from the container, threatening to send the photograph to her family to prove she was a thief. In fact, Varsha kept the photograph in a locked cabinet in the Defendants' bedroom closet. Samirah further testified that Varsha beat her upon learning that she ate food from the trash and fell asleep.

Samirah testified to even more serious acts by Varsha. Samirah described her abuse in detail, informing the jury that Varsha pulled her ears with fingernails until they bled; threw boiling water on her; cut her with a knife; hit her; pinched her; forced her to strip her clothes off; shaved her pubic hair; wrapped her in cellophane; forced her to eat chili peppers; and forced her to eat her own vomit. In addition, Samirah testified that Varsha cut off the hair on her head; compelled her to wear eyeglasses that were fastened with a rubber band and covered with tape; and forced her to wear rags. She further testified that the rags she wore were used to clean the floor and that parts of her body were uncovered because she was not permitted to wear undergarments. In addition, when Varsha beat her, she was so frightened, she was unable to control her bladder and urinated on the floor. (Tr. 1048-54, 1064-65, 1311-12, 1761-1821, 1848-49, 1855, 1880-85, 2021).

In addition, Samirah testified that Varsha threatened to hurt her and her children if she ran away. She asked Varsha to send her back to Indonesia, but was told that in order to go back, she would have to pay the Defendants 100 million rupiahs. (Tr. 1809, 1880-85).

Enung also testified to abuse by Varsha. Enung testified that Varsha hit her on three occasions. In 2005, Varsha hit her in the face while wearing a large ring on her finger. Varsha also hit her with a metal spoon and a glass dish. In addition, Varsha threatened to have Enung's husband in Indonesia arrested if she ran away and told her that the police would shoot her if she left the Sabhnani house. (Tr. 3083-86, 3089-90, 3187-88, 3512).

Enung testified at length about Varsha's treatment of Samirah. Specifically, Enung testified that Varsha abused Samirah by pouring boiling water on her; cutting her; hitting her with various objects; forcing her to eat chili peppers; attempting to force her to drink Windex; forcing her to strip off her clothes and covering her in tape; and cutting off her hair. Strangely, Enung testified that she did not remember if she had ever personally cut Samirah. In addition, both Samirah and Enung testified that Varsha threatened to kill them. Further, Enung testified that although Varsha threw out the rags that Samirah wore, Samirah retrieved the rags from the trash and continued to wear them. (Tr. 1785-87, 1790-91, 1794-95, 3180-85, 3129-37, 3189-96, 3155-56, 3253-55, 3460-61, 3507, 3555, 3576).

As stated above, many of the facts testified to by Samirah, regarding her abuse, were corroborated by Enung. In addition, other witnesses testified regarding events that they witnessed in the Sabhnani home, further corroborating the testimony by Samirah and Enung. Most notably, Deborah Litras, the export manager for Mahender's company, who worked in `the home office with Mahender, and was still in his employ at the time of the trial, further corroborated the facts alleged by Samirah and Enung. Litras testified that she secretly mailed a letter for Samirah to her children in Indonesia and deleted the return address because she did not know if the Defendants permitted Samirah and Enung to send letters home. Litras also testified that Samirah and Enung dressed in "torn or tattered type clothing." Litras bought food for Samirah and Enung, including donuts and muffins, but removed the wrappers so the Defendants would not find out. Litras testified that she felt sorry for them and "was glad" when she found out that Samirah ran away. (Tr.2050-64, 3834, 3842-48, 3853-57, 3878-79, 3881-84, 3947, 3966, 3968-69).

Litras further testified that Samirah and Enung demonstrated to her that Varsha forced Samirah to eat chili peppers and hit her. Samirah also took off her hat, showing Litras that her hair was "all cut up, chopped up." Samirah showed Litras a "big gash behind her right ear" and a bruise on her left shoulder. Litras further testified that on another occasion, she saw Samirah with "blood coming down her face from her hairline," crouching at the' door to Mahender's office. She also saw a smudge of Samirah's blood on the door. (Tr. 3858-74, 3860-71, 3885-93, 3940-44).

William Hespeler, an electrician who worked in the Sabhnani home, testified that he witnessed Samirah wearing "raggedy clothes." In addition, Anthony Pascarella, the Sabhnanis' gardener, testified that he gave food to Samirah and Enung, including donuts, chicken and bread, who were wearing "old" clothes. (Tr. 3586, 3643-48, 3653-54).

2. As to the Specific Evidence of Mahender's Conduct

Mahender accurately notes that both Samirah and Enung testified that he was "nice" or "good". However, that view was not precisely accurate. Samirah also testified that "[t]he mister is nice, not as mean as the missus." (Tr. at 2367). In addition, Samirah testified that when Varsha beat her, no one else was present, and Enung testified that when Samirah was beaten, Mahender was not home. Further, they testified that Mahender was not present when Samirah was forced to eat hot chili peppers or was stripped naked. In addition, they were unable to communicate with Mahender because he did not speak Indonesian. Mahender also notes that defense witnesses testified that they did not observe...