Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


         Two Plead Not Guilty in US in Cuban Baseball Smuggling Scheme

   by VOA News

   A baseball trainer and a sports agent in Florida have pleaded not
   guilty in U.S. federal court to charges linked to the smuggling of top
   Cuban baseball talent out of the communist country and into the United
   States.

   Julio Estrada, owner of an athletic training business in Miami, who was
   arrested Friday, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Miami. Bart Hernandez,
   head of a sports management company, who was arrested in February, also
   pleaded not guilty at his arraignment.

   Prosecutors said a third suspect, identified as Haitian national Amin
   Latouff, remained at large.

   No trial dates have been announced.

   Authorities said the charges stemmed from an earlier prosecution of
   four people linked to the smuggling of Cuban superstar Leonys Martin,
   who defected in 2010 and currently plays with the Seattle Mariners.

   Prosecutors said smuggling schemes involved 17 Cuban players who were
   secretly brought through Mexico to the United States. None of the
   players face charges.

   Authorities alleged that Estrada and Hernandez conspired to "obtain
   false and fraudulent residency documents on behalf of the players"
   through a Mexican company.  In exchange, authorities said, the
   smugglers took a percentage of any major league baseball contract
   signed by their clients.

   In a pending civil lawsuit, the people who brought Martin out of Cuba
   in 2010 allege that Martin owes them millions of dollars in unpaid
   fees.

   Martin has countered that he and his family were held captive until he
   paid $1.35 million of his $20 million contract to the Mexican company
   named in the latest indictments.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/pair-pleads-cuban-baseball-smuggling-
   scheme/3304440.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/pair-pleads-cuban-baseball-smuggling-scheme/3304440.html