So what will the federal government get when it seizes the Muttowntown house where Mahender and Varsha Sabhnani kept two Indonesian women as slaves? According to Nassau County property records, a 5,898-square-foot Contemporary on Coachman Place East on a little less than a half-acre of property. It's unclear how many bedrooms there are, but records show that there are seven bathrooms. The ground floor alone is 2,066 square feet. There is a pool, with a stone and tile patio and a wood deck. The Sabhnanis bought the house, built in 1985, for $675,000. Comparable homes in the area are now selling for anywhere from $1.6 million to $2.8 million. Taxes are $25,484.06.
Newsday photo / Karen Wiles Stabile
Comments (20)
why does the press keep calling this house "a mansion" ???
is it just to add hype and drama to the story to sell papers? i can see no other motive.
"ENSLAVED in a Mansion!"
"Mansion of Horror"
etc etc etc
give me a break. this looks like an ordinary house in commack or any other suburb. is it even in muttontown? mutontown is all 2 acre zoning. this house is not even on half an acre!
They should be put in cells with hardened criminals so that they get the same treatment as they meted to the poor indonesian maids.
I am appalled by the whole situation. The couple was probably not innocent but I believe the media and the court has made this a lynching case or perhaps more appropriate, a witch burning case. There was no evidence of starving of the "slaves" and some credible evidence that at least one of them was practicing self-mutilation. I don't know this couple or they family but they still are people with lives like the rest of us. With children and other family members who love them and need them. The Cruella caricature was overdone and unkind. The women has fine features and a thin drawn face. If she looked like Jennifer Aniston would she have been treated the same ? "Burn witch, burn". There are real slave trafficers who have stuffed dozens of people into shipping containers. Sometimes with all of them dying. I am not suggesting that we simply set this couple free, only that we temper justice with mercy and that we abandon the angry mob approach to dealing what was a tragic case and yes, criminal behavior on the part of two people.
I completely agree with the comments made by mike and R. Plus, the Cruella depiction was in poor taste, whether it occurred at the innocent-until-proven-guilty stage, or thereafter. I am of Indian Muslim descent; living in the US; growing up in the UK. People would expect I would automatically side with the so-called slaves reported to be of Indonesian Muslim descent. But I have learnt through the years to look past the brainwashing we have been led to expect from the "justice" (and political) system, and the news reporting, wherever it occurs. Especially so in America; where the news media routinely insult the intelligence, and standards of decency and fair play, and where so much of prosecutorial conduct and desire for convictions is tied up with the political and elected agenda that puts them in power in the first place. Remember the movie "The Loudest Whisper"? This case is tragically similar to the premise in that movie and the lives destroyed as a result. These Indonesian slaves may likely have been improperly treated, but was the maltreatment on a scale to warrant such drama by the courts and prosecutors, and up to 40 years in federal prison? And a federal sentence allows no parole. There was way too much emphasis put on believing their tales of supposed horrific abuse, with the photos taken for the prosecution (released to the public) showing remarkably little to support such claims, and the slaves looking too well-fed for the starvation claim. Other photos produced by the prosecutors showed the women even looking happy and contented! That there exists a culture of mistreatment of servants in various non-European countries is often contended by many Indians and Europeans I've spoken to. Yet, personally, I've never witnessed anything other than good relationships between servants and householders, with the latter going out of their way to treat their servants well. By the way, working as a servant in these countries is a common form of livelihood, and is akin to hiring maids that even middle-class households in US increasingly rely on these days. And Europeans (particularly the xenophobes) are quick to get on their high horses to decry this mistreatment, while supporting bombing other minions into the stone age, and ignoring the horrific plight of "other" slaves so they can have cheap supermarket produce. But what is not known, and is also endemic, is the abuse by servants in these non-European countries to the householders employing them, in the form of large-scale theft of goods and money, and of physical harm to the householders (my widowed disabled aunt in India was beaten up and left for dead by a servant in her employ when she caught him stealing her meagre pension). Anyway, since many Americans of European descent know little of non-European cultural ways -- there was ample evidence produced to show the Indonesian slaves' own agenda was suspect, and yet the jury behaved like ones at the Salem witch trials - not surprisingly, the US educational system does not create an independent thinker; one capable of sound analytical reasoning. The defense attempted to raise reasonable doubt about certain superstitious beliefs held by the slaves. This was not just a ploy. It doesn't matter if you are Hindu or Christian or Muslim in Indonesia; the people in that region have strong influence from early animist beliefs and superstitions AND practices, and the claim by the defense of self-inflicted cuts and other self-inflicted harm is not unusual. Nor is unusual how scheming even poor people can be. The doughnuts? Being used to explain how starved the Indonesian slave was that she mouthed "doughnut" to the landscape worker, who assumed she was starving. Coca Cola and doughnuts, and other American junk foods, are like addictions to many from poorer countries. I have relatives who almost boycotted my wedding in the UK when I told them no Coke or chips or other junk snacks were going to be served at any of my wedding celebrations (we Indians have many days of wedding festivities). There was much that was not explored in this case. A prosecution hell bent on pursuing a modern-day slavery conviction like reality or game show ratings, and common sense thrown to the wind. Scary, really scary, is how many thousands of people all over the net have reacted with self-righteous and vitriolic statements about the Sabhnanis. They could be you. They could be me.
If you want to avoid the angry mob approach, then demand that Congress pass comprehensive immigration reform.
These domestic workers came here to earn money to send home to their families.
Not having a realistic guest workers system leaves women like this unprotected. Employers find a million ways to mistreat them and deny them their wages. They do it because they can. Here in America in 2007.
Pitiful.
I can't wait until Varsha meets here cellmate, Big Bertha, with the tattoos and missing teeth. Then she'll learn what slavery really is.
What the couple did was horrendous. But confiscating the house? So much for punishment that fits the crime... Was Gotti's house taken from him? and don't they have young girls still living in the house?
Ehud is right, the whole USA justice mafia does not give a ---- about the wellbeing of their daughters! the richer they are, the more money and properties they will try to STEAL! instead of a couple slavery victims, they are distroying many more lives as they prosecute along. pursue the american dream by immigraçting there MY ---
To RH:
“They could be you. They could be me. They could be you. They could be me.”
Maybe they could be you…but they could not be me.
When in Rome, do as the romans. If you choose to live in America, you must abide by the laws of the country, or if caught violating them, pay the consequences. I did not attend the trial but I believe they were guilty of the crimes they were charged. The government and its agents cannot convict, only the ordinary citizens selected to be in the jury can do that. And the conviction must be beyond reasonable doubt. The jury returned a guilty verdict on all counts.
I lived in Indonesia for several years. My wife is an Indonesian. I know it works differently there. However, I never witnessed such abuse as Varsha Sabhnani has been convicted of. There were separate servants quarters in my house, and in the houses of my Indonesian collegues who had servants. The servants I came in contact with worked hard and got paid poorly. But they were treated with respect and never did I witness the kind of sadism as in the case.
I can only conclude that Varsha Sabhnani is a sadist who derives pleasure from dominating and humiliating the powerless. I sincerely hopes she eventually recognizes her evil, repents her arrogance,and reforms.
They did the crime, and they will do the time.
If this couple hired lawyers (who defend mobsters in criminal trials), they would not lose their house and would probably taken a plea for lesser charge.
Yes, the LI couple broke the law, behaved callously, and deserved their guilty verdict.
But we have ALSO have laws against unjust and unduly harsh punishment. 40 years? Even 15 years - how does that fit the scale of this couple's crime?
How about consistency in nailing and sentencing people who break the law? Many corporate thieves have gotten away with ruining the lives and pensions of thousands, who will NEVER recover from it. Many people are involved in far worse abuse than this couple's, against defenseless kids and babies, for instance, and get probation. Our legal system allows this.
Proscecutors are routinely selective in who they target, and why. It's political. It's the flavor of the day. It's to cover up other officials' negligence and incompetence. And so on. It is a feature of our legal system, and is not always about the fair and balanced pursuit of justice. And this system needs a serious overhaul.
The person who wrote about abiding by the laws of this country is seriously naive. Wrongful imprisonments DESPITE jury verdicts - overturned. Excessive sentences for blacks and Hispanics - documented. The Duke fiasco, anyone? Abuse of power by the powers-that-be is a very real occurrence for people caught up in the justice system.
There should have been official oversight once the visas were issued for these women/maids.
Anyway, why are we giving visas to people who have menial job skills? And who end up sending their money abroad. How does this benefit the country? What about the kids of these maids? They're reported to not be minors, so why didn't they help their moms financially, and take care of them?
I was a new immigrant to USA 25 years ago, arriving with just my suitcase, no assets, other than a job skill in short supply in USA. Even then, as it is now, I went through a vigorous screening process before I was given a visa, and monitored for compliance before I got my residency status. All because the authorities wanted to make sure I was not depriving an American of their livelihood.
I stand by my belief that the jury were overly swayed by the testimony of the maids, and that there is a cultural element at play that the system here could not fathom.
A lot has been exposed by this tragic case. And it is not just the wrongdoing by the Sabhnanis.
This is emotional to me . Any amount of time in prison is
justified.These are sadistic people and deseve the full
penalty of the law.
To the DA and the jury well done.
To the defence even these sadists deserve a fair trial,
now we can put them in jail for a long time with
good conscience.
THE PUNISHMENT SHOULD FIT THE CRIME.
THE SABHNANIS ARE GUILTY AND SHOULD
SPEND JAILTIME, HOWEVER THE COURT SHOULD SHOW MERCY EVEN THOUGH
THEY DIDN'T SHOW MERCY ON THEIR
SERVANTS.
THEY SHOULD BE GIVEN A SENTENCE OF
FIVE YEARS AND SHOULD NOT LOSE THEIR
HOME.THEY HAVE CHILDREN WHO NEED
THEIR HOME EVEN THOUGH THEIR PARENTS WILL NOT BE WITH THEM FOR A
LONG TIME.
THERE ARE CRIMINALS WHO HAVE COMMITED HORRIFIC CRIMES AND HAVE NOT SUFFERED STIFF PENALTIES SUCH AS
THESE TWO PEOPLE WILL BE FACING.
ALSO, THESE TWO PEOPLE SHOULD BE
GIVEN PSYCHOLOGICAL THERAPY WHILE
IN PRISON.
RH is off the track on whether this is about housekeepers
or slavery.He confuses corporate theives with this crime as well.
His train of though is disjointed and incoherenet. ; he tries to
blend biographical refences , and irrelevent personal
observations with the workings of the justtice system.
This all makes sense to him.
Ever see it to fail?
All post with too many capitals are written by
the poorest thinkers.
What about the chillies? They are of Indian origin so the chillies must have been the Serrano variety. Have you ever bit into a Serrano chilli? They are small, green and vicious. You feel them the next day.
Now imagine being forced to eat them raw, having to vomit and then being forced to eat the vomitus.
The only explanation is that Cruella is a nutter. She is going to have such an interesting time in prison. I wonder if she'll survive all the 'attention'.
And why did the kids not come forward? They could have hardly been unaware of the slaves under the stairs. Are they all nuts?
Note: I think we should ignore RH and his cute immigrant anecdotes. Maybe he should try the Serrano Chilli Vomit test and tell us how he feels.
Oh the wife wants the judge to change his mind. Now she wants mercy? Where was her decency when she was abusing the two slaves? man is she one ugky looking thing. you can see from her face she's cruel and despicable. Too bad they only get 20yrs. And why the hell is sentencing in March?
To the first poster, Mike:
I don't know what kind of millionaire estates you live at, but to me, 6,000 sq feet, a pool, and SEVEN bathrooms qualifies for "mansion" status...
The parents , or at least one of them, are control freaks. The kids live in a "cocoon" where the parents make all the decisions? How old are they? At least one of them should be 18 or older. Wouldn't surprise me if they too had been abused in the past...
yes, the wife deserves the punishment & the justice system needs to set an example for other rich families who have maids running around in their houses whom they insult & mistreat.
but our justice system also needs reform. i have had misfortune of facing our justice system & i can tell you that not always the cases are looked at transparently. at times, witnesses false testimony is well accepted even if looked obviously untrue.
also, today's prosecutor who works double in proving the suspect guilty, tomorrow he leaves the court job, becomes a defense lawyer & works double in getting a murder suspect free!! where is the ethics?
no doubt that the indonesian ladies deserve humanly treatment & for such unhuman treatment the convict deserves the punishment, but it should be in other forms. 1: the convicts should sustain a severe fine, such as 40% of their assets----that would make others think twice. ofcourse they should face some jail time, but we should not forget that many many corporate leaders have walked with probation-slap on wrist etc! remember, our own former president walked un scratched even after all thaqt semen drop--etc!! he took advantage of his status-----the suspect took advantage of her authority!!
suspect should have been apologetic & remorseful. she should have admitted to abusing her authority & show willingness to revert the wrongdoing she implied onto the maids. then the judge perhaps would/would have shown some mercy!