POSTVILLE -- Agriprocessors announced Thursday it hired a former U.S. attorney to monitor the company's compliance with immigration and employment law.

Jim Martin, a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, will serve as Agriprocessors' corporate compliance officer beginning immediately.

Martin leads The Prevene Group, a St. Louis-based firm that specializes in helping companies "identify, and stop, potential criminal conduct before it starts."

"Agriprocessors can meet the needs of those who depend on the company and operate in compliance with all laws, and I intend to see that happen," Martin said in a statement released by the company.

Agriprocessors also announced it has begun a search for a new CEO. Sholom Rubashkin stepped down from the top post at the company two weeks ago. He had led the company, the largest kosher meat processing facility in the U.S., since his family opened the plant in 1987.

"Hiring a new CEO and retaining an outside Corporate Compliance Officer demonstrates our company's commitment to meaningful change," said Heshy Rubashkin, vice president of Agriprocessors, in a statement.

On May 12, federal authorities raided Agriprocessors and detained 389 workers in the largest single-site raid in U.S. history.

In court documents filed before the raid, federal officials alleged the company had violated numerous labor and safety laws, and that nearly 78 percent of the company's 968 workers were using false or fraudulent Social Security numbers.

In addition, allegations of child labor law violations are under investigation by the state.

Of those arrested in the raid, 297 pleaded guilty to crimes such as using false documents to obtain employment and false use of a Social Security number.

Agriprocessors got a break last month when the state reduced fines of $182,000 against the company by three-fourths after it promised to improve safety for its workers.

U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley said he doesn't disagree with the decision but wants state labor leaders to consider the company's history if problems arise in the future.

"It certainly raises a red flag that this is an employer that doesn't seem … to have a great deal of respect for the law, despite its statements to the contrary," said Braley, whose district includes Postville.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Jens Manuel Krogstad at (319) 291-1580 or jens.krogstad@wcfcourier.com.