Albert Lea has tie to anti-Catholic statements
Published 5:00 am Sunday, December 11, 2011
A federal bankruptcy judge in Minnesota is considering fining a lawyer and her client over a court filing with anti-Catholic statements — and there is an Albert Lea connection.
The memo was signed by Hastings attorney Rebekah Nett and written by Naomi Isaacson, a Minneapolis woman who is president of Yehud-Monosson USA Inc., which owns gas stations and convenience stores. It’s a subsidiary of the Shawano, Wis., religious group called the Dr. R.C. Samanta Roy Institute of Science and Technology Inc. The institute is involved in a bankruptcy dispute before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Nancy Dreher.
According to files in U.S. Bankruptcy Appeals Court for the Eight Circuit, Yehud-Monosson USA Inc. is the same entity as Midwest Oil of Minnesota, the former owner of the abandoned Mobile station at 2611 Bridge Ave. in Albert Lea.
Dreher earlier this week told Nett and Isaacson to explain why they shouldn’t be fined up to $10,000. Dreher set a hearing for Jan. 4.
Among other things, the November filing said the courts were “composed of a bunch of ignoramus, bigoted Catholic beasts that carry the sword of the church” and called the judge a “Catholic Knight Witch Hunter.”
Dreher told Nett and Isaacson that she plans to order them to write public apologies for the filing.
The judge pointed to 10 passages with religious slurs, conspiracy claims or other comments against Dreher and others. Dreher told Nett and Isaacson they could face sanctions of up to $1,000 for each passage.
Nett did not immediately return a call seeking comment left at her office Friday night.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.