Lien on Pickle assets sought
BY MICHAEL OVERALL World Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
A petition alleges the
company transferred
property to avoid paying
a $1.3 million verdict to
immigrant workers.
More than a year after winning a
“virtual slavery” lawsuit against the
Tulsa factory, federal attorneys are
accusing the John Pickle Co. of hiding
assets to avoid paying the $1.3
million verdict.
In a petition filed in state court,
the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission asked a district
judge to place a lien on Pickle assets
to pay off the judgment.
The petition alleges that Pickle
transferred company property and
assets to third parties, including
“family-related business entities.”
Located west of downtown, the
factory closed in 2002, after more
than 50 immigrant workers accused
the company of treating
them like “virtual slaves,” forcing
them to stay on the factory grounds
and paying them as little as $1 an
hour.
In May, 2006, U.S. Chief District
Judge Claire Eagan found the company
guilty of fraud, false imprisonment
and civil rights violations.
The final judgment — for
$1,321,802.80 — became official on
Oct. 16, 2006, exactly one year ago
Tuesday, prompting this week’s petition
in an attempt to collect the
money.
“Mr. Pickle has refused to pay
the debt that a federal judge decided
he owes to these men,” said
Kent Felty, a private attorney who
represented the immigrant workers
in the lawsuit.
“So, as usual with Mr. Pickle,
we’re going to have to do things
the hard way and take it to court.”
In the petition, the judge is asked
to void the transfer of properties
and assets, then place a lien against
the properties until the verdict is
paid.
The lawsuit and the verdict were
against both John Pickle the company
and John Pickle the individual,
who was accused of personally
going to India to recruit workers
for his Tulsa factory.
Promised good-paying jobs and
“typical American accommodations,” the men were instead
forced to live in a makeshift
dormitory inside the factory
gates, where they worked for
a fraction of what their American
counterparts received,
according to evidence presented
at the trial.
After the original lawsuit
was filed, the U.S. government
granted the men refugee
status, allowing them to
stay in the country indefinitely.
Many have applied to become
permanent U.S. residents,
working toward citizenship,
although most have
long since left Tulsa.
Pickle always denied any
wrongdoing, saying the men
knew all along that they
wouldn’t be paid typical
American wages.
Instead of employees, the
company considered the
men “trainees,” who were going
to spend a few months in
Tulsa before moving to a
Pickle facility in Kuwait.
The Pickle Co. manufactured
large-scale equipment
for oil refineries and power
plants.
An attorney for Pickle did
not return messages Tuesday
from the Tulsa World. An
attorney for the EEOC also
did not return messages.
Michael Overall 581-8383
michael.overall@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
PETITION
Pickle: He was
accused of going
to India to recruit
workers for his
Tulsa factory.
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