3 Held in Smuggling of Cuban Cigars Into State
The leader of a group smuggling thousands of Cuban cigars into California was charged with illegally trading with an enemy of the U.S. government, federal officials said.
Joseph Bruce Hybl, 41, and his girlfriend, Julie Ann Chatard, 35, were arrested Thursday. Each faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
The arrests climaxed a federal investigation dubbed Operation Smoke Ring.
It began last year after 900 Cuban cigars worth $10,000 were seized from a businessman who agreed to cooperate with the government in return for not being charged.
Hybl was leader of the group that supplied the businessman with cigars for resale, federal officials said. Also arrested was Jack Robert Bramy, 49, on charges that he helped Hybl smuggle 25,000 Cuban cigars into the U.S. through Mexico, officials said.
They had a retail value of about $250,000.
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