Oct 9, 2008 11:19 am US/Mountain
7th Person Sentenced In Endangered Turtle Case
DENVER (AP) ―
A man who made boots for President Bush and former Mexican President Vicente Fox has been sentenced to two years in prison for his part in smuggling endangered sea turtle skins and other exotic leathers from Mexico to the United States.
Martin Villegas Terrones of Leon, Mexico, was sentenced in Denver this week to two years in prison.
Terrones pleaded guilty in March to federal smuggling charges.
He is the seventh person to be sentenced in the case. Four others have been indicted but remain at large.
Federal prosecutors say Terrones made boots for Fox and Fox's bodyguards, Cabinet members and friends. President Bush accepted a pair of Terrones' ostrich-skin cowboy boots as a gift in 2001.
Federal wildlife agents in Denver handled the investigation.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
316,000 Bongs Disguised As Ornaments
Obama Sculpture Does A Cool Trick
Slideshow: Colorado's Weirdest House
Stumble It!
Comments