here's the rest of the article
Advertisement
Check Delivery Options | 50% Off-Click Here!
Witnesses testified that in the early 1990s as the cigar fad was building in the United States, Connors went to Cuba by way of Canada and Mexico almost monthly, bought cigars and brought them home with him.
American citizens must have State Department permission to visit Cuba. Authorized visitors may bring back $100 worth of goods including cigars for their own use but may not resell them here.
Cuba is renowned for such fine cigars as Romeo y Juliettas, Montecristos and Fidel Castro's favorites, Cohibas.
Connors, a former Cook County assistant public defender, served as his own lawyer and accused the government of cooking up evidence against him.
He said the government began investigating him after misinterpreting an adventure novel he wrote about cigar smuggling as true.
Prosecutors showed the jury stacks of cigar boxes confiscated from Connors' home in the suburb of Skokie and plainly marked ``Hecho en Cuba.''
In most cases, Customs agents who find Americans returning with Cuban cigars merely confiscate the cigars. Prosecutors said charges were brought against Oliver because of the large number of cigars he smuggled.
