Sentencing Set For Ballplayer Smuggler
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MIAMI (AP) - Sentencing is set for the convicted ringleader of a smuggling organization that brought into the U.S, more than 1,000 Cubans, including several baseball players.
Eliezer Lazo could get up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced Monday in Miami federal court. Lazo pleaded guilty in August to extortion charges involving the Cuban migrants, including Texas Rangers outfielder Leonys Martin. Other ballplayers are identified only by initials.
The organization brought the Cubans by boat to Mexico and then crossed the U.S. border in Texas for $10,000 per person, more for ballplayers. Court documents show the smugglers paid fees to the Zetas drug cartel to operate in their territory in Mexico.
Lazo is already serving a five-year sentence for money laundering in an unrelated Medicare fraud case.
(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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