The first to be charged might now be the last to be tried in the Iowa cases involving the allegedly falsified sale of “Halal” beef to markets in Southeast Asia. The trial in U.S. District Court for Northern Iowa of 73-year-old Cedar Rapids businessman William B. Aossey Jr., which was to begin March 9, has been continued to a date to be determined by Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. That means the trial for the other defendants said to be involved in the allegedly phony “Halal” beef sales may occur first, even though they were indicted three months after Aossey. His sons, Jalel Aossey and Yahya Nasser Aossey, along with Miramar Corporation and Islamic Services of America, were all indicted this past December on 92 federal felony counts stemming from the same government investigation into the “Halal” beef sales. A schedule for a trial beginning around Oct. 1 has been issued for those named in the December indictment. The elder Aossey founded both Miramar Corp. and Islamic Services, which were housed together to facilitate the production and sale of “Halal” beef meeting all the standards and requirements of the Muslim religion. Asset was the first to be indicted last October. In both his case and that against his sons and the two organizations, the government is charging that there was a conspiracy to sell beef to Malaysia and Indonesia as “Halal” by covering up material facts, making false and fraudulent statements, and using false comments and export certificates, along with misbranded products. After a telephone conference Friday, Reade signed an order written by defense attorney Michael K. Lahammer stating that the indefinite delay is required because of the complexity of the case, the amount of discovery required, and the need to have the court rule on pre-trial motions. “Failure to grant a continuance would deny (the) Defendant the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation, taking into account the exercise of due diligence,” the court order states. The delay was approved to accommodate the “ends of justice” which it states outweigh the “best interest of the public and the Defendant in a speedy trial.” The time between Feb. 5, when the defense filed the request for a delay, until whenever the trial does begin for the elder Aossey will be excluded from the speedy trial rule. Defense attorneys said before the trial date was delayed that they were already looking at 300,000 documents in the discovery process, and it was clear that more time for pre-trial preparation would be required. Government attorneys did not challenge the request. July 1 is the deadline for “all potentially dispositive motions” for the trial of the two Aossey sons and the two companies. Defendants in both trials were released to assist in their own defenses.