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I thought Vitasea ran aground, not stopped by the authorities.

Probation and random drug testing is very lenient.
 
bfreebern said:
I thought Vitasea ran aground, not stopped by the authorities.

Probation and random drug testing is very lenient.
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Yes he ran aground and got caught with all the illegal contraband!
 
He should appeal. He wasn't convicted of a drug crime. Why should he be subjected to random drug testing?

Doc.
 
Part of the plea bargain I'm assuming, in lieu of jail time.
 
I suppose he will not be going to the next cigar "festible" in Havana.
 
Not sure about the rest of you, but I'm impressed, i remember when he was criticized for having nothing but fakes. Way to go, maybe next time! :) :thumbs:
 
sack said:
Not sure about the rest of you, but I'm impressed, i remember when he was criticized for having nothing but fakes. Way to go, maybe next time! :) :thumbs:
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Oh don't mistake this, he was getting fakes from the local industry down there. If you ever got any of his cigars as samples they didn't match up well with the real thing.
 
Devil Doc said:
He should appeal. He wasn't convicted of a drug crime. Why should he be subjected to random drug testing?

Doc.
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Same reason why one of my college friends who got busted for pot (not for possessing it, but peeing it when stopped by cops in Sturgis, ND on suspicion) was forbidden to drink alcohol but could still own a handgun? ???
 
cigarcyclopedia.com had a much more detailed article about the latest in the vitasea trial....

Los Angeles, January 22, 2009 – What happens when you’re caught with 28,000 Cuban-made cigars, 42 bottles of Cuban rum, 100 cartons of Cuban cigarettes and 30 pounds of Cuban coffee?

You get convicted of a felony and get sentenced to 36 months probation and required to enter a substance abuse program and submit to random drug testing.

That’s what happened Tuesday to 69-year-old Douglas Hiner of Port Charlotte, Florida, who pled guilty to one count of importing illegal goods into the U.S. Although the U.S. Attorney’s Office had recommended a prison sentence, U.S. District Judge John Steele decided on probation instead.

Hiner was caught last May when the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted his 53-foot sailboat, the Vitamin Sea, and found hidden compartments which contained Cuban-origin goods that are prohibited under the American trade embargo with Cuba. The discovery led investigators to a Fort Myers storage facility which contained the 28,000 cigars, the rum, coffee, cigarettes and other contraband.

“Obviously, I wasn’t a good smuggler,” he told the Omaha World-Herald newspaper. “But it was a victimless crime. Essentially, it was a political crime.”

Hiner was a real estate developer in Omaha and reportedly amassed a $6 million fortune before finding out that his partner had embezzled most of the money and then, after being indicted, fled to Australia. When things were good, Hiner used to sail to Cuba to deliver medical supplies and came back with some Cuban cigars for his friends.

After moving to Florida after declaring bankruptcy in 2005, Hiner soon began buying hundreds or thousands of cigars to sell in the U.S., but was apparently buying them off the street instead of from legitimate stores. Thus, he had considerable trouble moving them in the U.S. And then he ran into the Coast Guard.

“I’m very relieved,” he said after the sentencing hearing. “I had moved everything out of my apartment and into a storage locker. Basically, I thought I was going to jail.” At 69, he doesn’t have a lot of job prospects, but he does have one real estate deal cooking that could lead to others.

And he’d like to be able to buy his boat back. It was seized and has been held since his arrest. But he’s ready to make an offer and doubts anyone else would have much interest in the 20-year-old sloop. But he’d like to live on the boat . . . and promises he won’t be going to Cuba again.
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They're the only one to mention that he was smuggling cigars he bought "off the street" (which we guys in the know translate as "fake") and was having "considerable trouble" moving his product. Indeed! :laugh:
 
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