MIAMI (AP) — Testimony has ended in the Miami trial of a sports agent and a trainer accused of smuggling Cuban baseball players into the U.S. so they could sign lucrative professional contracts. The prosecution and defense rested Friday. Closing arguments are scheduled for Tuesday morning in the federal case against agent Bartolo Hernandez and trainer Julio Estrada, both of whom have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and alien smuggling charges.
Jurors could begin deliberations later Tuesday.Prosecutors said the pair used shady boat captains, document forgers and phony paperwork to get the players to the U.S. quickly so they could sign Major League Baseball contracts.
Several Cuban players testified, including Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox and Leonys Martin of the Seattle Mariners. Neither Hernandez nor Estrada took the witness stand.
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Two Texas Rangers testified Tuesday that they never discussed illegally bringing Cuban ballplayers to the U.S. with a Florida sports agent.
Agent Bartolo Hernandez is on trial for allegedly smuggling players. Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels and assistant GM Mike Daly told a Miami jury they never knew that outfielder Leonys Martin planned to cross the U.S. border illegally.
Martin signed a $15.5 million contract with the Rangers after he was smuggled from Cuba in 2011. Martin now plays for the Seattle Mariners.
Daniels and Daly are the first two defense witnesses in the trial of Hernandez and trainer Julio Estrada.
Hernandez and Estrada insist they ran legitimate businesses and did not bring players into the U.S. illegally.
(Jessi Minneci)