Court won't hear appeal in Muttontown 'slavery' case
Mahender and Varsha Sabhnani before their trial. (Dec. 18, 2007) Credit: James Carbone
The Supreme Court won't overturn the convictions of a Long Island couple convicted of enslaving two Indonesian housekeepers.
The high court on Tuesday refused to hear appeals from Mahender and Varsha Sabhnani that sought to overturn their forced-labor convictions.
The couple was convicted of enslaving two domestic servants the couple brought from Indonesia by keeping their travel documents and having them perform forced labor on their behalf.
Prosecutors said Varsha Sabhnani was primarily responsible for inflicting years of abuse on the poorly educated servants. They said her husband let the abuse take place and benefited from the work the women performed in their $2 million Muttontown home.
Varsha Sabhnani says pre-trial publicity prevented her from getting a fair trial, while her husband argues that he shouldn't have been convicted for aiding and abetting because he didn't stop his wife.
The cases are Mahender Sabhnani v United States, 10-475 and Varsha Sabhnani v United States, 10-476.
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It's Your Business! This month's roundup including how to protect yourself from digital scams Join NewsdayTV as we recount the top business stories on LI that you need to know about.
