04/25/08

DENVER (AP) _ A co-defendant of a man who made boots for the
U.S. and Mexican presidents has been sentenced to 16 months in
prison in a sea-turtle smuggling case.

Carlos Leal Barragan of Guzman, Mexico, was sentenced Friday in
U.S. District Court after pleading guilty in January to smuggling
and money laundering.

Martin Villegas Terrones, who has made boots for President Bush
and former Mexican president Vicente Fox, has pleaded guilty to the
same charges and is awaiting sentencing.

Prosecutors say Barragan illegally sent about 360 pieces of the
skins of protected sea turtles, plus sea turtle boots, belts and
shoes, to undercover Fish and Wildlife Service agents in Colorado
last year. The items were worth about $30,000.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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