# Agent Accused Of Smuggling Cuban Ball Players



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

_Five People Face Federal Charges_

*MIAMI -- *Five men are charged with smuggling illegal immigrants into the U.S. after investigators said the men transported prospective Cuban baseball players into Florida.

"With close cooperation from our law enforcement partners, we have struck a severe blow to professional smugglers and put them out of business," U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Michael Jett said.

Immigration authorities said a baseball players' agent and four other people illegally smuggled the players.

Federal authorities said on Tuesday that the agent eventually shipped them to California in hopes that they would be signed by major league teams.

The agent, Gustavo "Gus" Dominguez, is charged with paying four aides to transport the athletes and other Cubans to the United States in two trips from Cuba.

Dominguez is with California-based Total Sports International.

He has represented several Cuban baseball defectors, including Andy Morales, who was signed into the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox minor league systems after fleeing Cuba six years ago.

Investigators said Dominguez, Geoffrey Rodrigues, Robert Yosvany Hernandez, Ramon Batista and Guillermo Valdez were part of a plan to bring several prospective major league baseball players and other Cuban nationals into the country.

An indictment said the defendants transported the athletes to Los Angeles by van, rented an apartment for them, provided them with food and clothing and began training them.

An alien smuggling conviction carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.

According to the 53-count indictment, Dominguez, and the vice president of Total Sports International, that represents professional baseball players, financed the smuggling ventures and paid his co-conspirators for their participation in the scheme.

Investigators said Rodrigues and Dominguez first attempted to smuggle Cuban nationals into the U.S. on July 28, 2004. According to the charges, the defendants traveled on a boat from Florida to Cuba and boarded 22 Cuban nationals, including several baseball players. The boat was intercepted by law enforcement prior to arriving in the U.S.

Police said that Rodrigues and Dominguez successfully completed their efforts to smuggle 19 Cubans on August 22, 2004.

According to the charges, after arriving in Monroe County, Fla., defendants Batista and Valdez transported the Cuban baseball players in a rented van to Los Angeles. In California, the defendants allegedly rented an apartment for the players and provided food and clothing for them.

"Though this case involves a Beverly Hills sports agent and talented baseball players, it is remarkably similar to the human smuggling operations that ICE encounters every day," said ICE Assistant Secretary Julie Myers. "The ringleaders put the lives of illegal immigrants at risk and sought to profit from their labor. It is unfortunate that those who claim to support Major League Baseball taint America's pastime with these illegal human smuggling operations."

It could not be immediately determined if any of the Cubans have been signed by major league teams.

_Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed._​


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