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The Cuban CigarSting: One Year Later
One year after U.S. Customs agentsseized thousands of Havana cigars from two Manhattan establishmentsand arrested nine men for allegedly buying and in some cases resellingthe Cuban smokes, none have been convicted and charges have beendropped against at least four of the men. Lawyers associated with thecases are uncertain as to what action, if any, will be taken by theU.S. attorney assigned to the case.
"Nothing has movedforward," said Martin Gold, counsel for the Racquet and TennisClub, the posh men's athletic club on Park Avenue in Manhattan, whichCustoms raided on August 5, 1998. "There has been no notificationof pending action."
Although the Racquet Club was neverofficially implicated, scores of cigars were seized from the privatehumidors of several members, and Robert Gressler, the club's generalmanager, was arrested for allegedly reselling the cigars he purchasedfrom a representative of a Cuban-cigar smuggling ring. Patroon, anupscale Manhattan restaurant, was also raided on August 5. Owner KenAretsky and humidor manager Alex Hasbany were also arrested forallegedly buying Cuban cigars from the same smugglers and resellingthem to the restaurant's patrons.
Customs officials targeted Gressler,Aretsky and Hasbany in a sting operation that followed the April 1998arrest of Andrej Moszynski and his accomplice, the aptly namedJennifer Korona. Moszynski pleaded guilty to smuggling and sellingthousands of boxes of Cuban cigars imported from Cuba, Spain, Franceand Morocco.
After cooperating with federalauthorities, Moszynski handed over his list of customers, whichincluded affluent New York businessmen and a prominent restaurateur.Customs had turned up the first batch of illegal smokes while tracinga shipment of anabolic steroids to one of Moszynski's many boxes atMailboxes Etc. stores in and around Fairfield County, Connecticut.Following her arrest, Korona acted as a government informant,continuing to sell Cuban cigars to her Manhattan clients.
In December 1998, Moszynski wassentenced to two years' probation and 400 hours of community service,and was ordered to pay $24,000 in fines. Korona's April 1999 sentencewas lighter: a $1,000 fine. The maximum penalty for violating theTrading with the Enemy Act carries a 10-year prison sentence and a$100,000 fine.
"We were very pleased with theoutcome," said Nathan Silverstein, Korona's New Haven,Connecticut-based attorney. "The judge was very sympathetic [toMs. Korona]." Mr. Silverstein declined comment on any othermatters regarding Korona's case.
Dubbed the "Cohiba Nine"by the New York City tabloids, the men arrested in the sting also facethe maximum penalties under the Trading With the Enemy Act, ifconvicted. After widespread publicity concerning the raids, the U.S.attorneys prosecuting the case have taken no punitive action againstthe defendants, but representatives from the U.S. attorney's officesay action is pending.
"Things are and will bechanging rapidly," said Herb Hadad, a press officer for U.S.attorney Marc Mendolsohn, the prosecuting attorney responsible for thecases. "Maybe even within a few weeks."
Hadad refused to comment on whichcases were pending; neither would he confirm which cases had beendismissed. According to the respective lawyers for the accused,charges have been dismissed against Michael Dana, an investmentbanker; John Steinhardt, head of U.S. Securities for Chase ManhattanBank; Kenneth Joseph, head of IM Industries, an auto parts reseller;and Jeffrey Kelter, president of a Philadelphia real estate company.All four were charged with purchasing thousands of dollars of Cubancigars from Korona.
"We're pleased with ouroutcome," said James McGuire, counsel for Dana and Kelter."Customs spent a lot of money putting names in the newspapers andit would be awkward for them not to proceed on all of the cases."
Some members of the Racquet andTennis Club who had their cigars seized but were not charged withviolating any crimes have been attempting to reclaim their smokes.According to one member of the Club, Customs officials who seized thecigars were unable to discern the difference between a Cuban and anon-Cuban cigar. They "ransacked the place," the sourcesaid, and mistakenly seized premium non-Cuban cigars and pre-CastroCuban cigars, which are legal in the United States because they wereshipped from Havana before the U.S. embargo on Cuba was enacted in1962.
The source, who asked not to beidentified, reported having 100 cigars confiscated. He said heobtained a lawyer and was able to retrieve some of his cigars,including pre-Castro Havanas.
Initially, the confiscated cigarswere stored at a warehouse in Edison, New Jersey, but have since beenmoved to Art in Motion, a temperature-controlled storage facility inmidtown Manhattan. Art in Motion, according to the Racquet and TennisClub source, who collected his smokes from there, is an exclusive andexpensive storage facility that houses art, fine furniture and othercollectibles, mostly for private collectors. Security is paramount.
"It's like walking into theCIA," he said. "The building has a false front, the door isbricked over and you push this button to get buzzed in. It's veryclandestine."
-Jason Sheftell, CigarAficionado
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