MIAMI (AP) — A sports agent and a baseball trainer are facing prison time at a sentencing hearing in Miami after their convictions for illegally smuggling Cuban players into the U.S.
Court documents show prosecutors will ask a judge Thursday to exceed the nine-year maximum sentences recommended by federal guidelines for agent Bartolo Hernandez and trainer Julio Estrada.
Attorneys for both men are seeking more lenient prison terms.Hernandez and Estrada were convicted by a jury in March after a six-week trial.
Trial evidence showed the pair ran an international operation to smuggle Cuban players off the communist-run island in return for a cut of their lucrative baseball contracts.
The players include Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox, Adeiny Hechavarria of the Tampa Bay Rays and Leonys Martin of the Chicago Cubs.