Gonzalez's lawyer explains how Gonzalez, a divorced single mother with two children, designed a belt for a friend on a home sewing machine in Cali and became a fashion icon, surpassing the likes of Dior, Prada and Gucci. and asked the celebrity designer for leniency.
“She was determined to show her children and the world that women, including minority women like herself, can pursue their dreams and become financially independent,” they wrote in a memo ahead of Monday's hearing. is written in. “Despite all the adversity, this small but mighty woman was able to create the first luxury fashion company in a third world country.”
Lawyers said the 71-year-old designer had already paid a heavy price for his crimes. The Colombian company she founded, which once employed 300 mostly female workers, was declared bankrupt and ceased operations after her arrest.
She also claimed that only 1% of the products she imported into the United States were samples for New York Fashion Week and other events without proper authorization.
Addressing the court before his sentencing, Gonzalez said he deeply regrets not scrupulously following U.S. laws and that his only wish is to hug his 103-year-old mother one more time.
“I sincerely apologize to the United States of America. I never intended to offend a country that owes me so much gratitude,” he said, holding back tears. “Under pressure, I made the wrong decision.”
Prosecutors countered that Gonzalez's vast wealth and lavish lifestyle contrasted sharply with the couriers she hired to smuggle goods into the United States. When questioned by customs officials, the delivery workers were instructed to say that the items were gifts for her relatives.
“Her mission turned into producing felons,” Watts-Fitzgerald said. “She tried to rewrite her laws in her own way.”
Co-defendants and former employees said Gonzalez, described as a micromanager, recruited as many as 40 passengers to carry four designer handbags each on commercial flights ahead of important fashion events. Thus, although prosecutors estimate that she smuggled goods worth as much as $2 million into the United States, Gonzalez's lawyers dispute this claim, saying that each skin costs only $140. He said it was about a dollar amount.
All of the skins were from captive-raised caimans and pythons. Nevertheless, she did not receive the appropriate import permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is required under widely ratified international treaties governing trade in endangered and endangered wildlife species. Sometimes I couldn't get it.
In handing down her sentence, Judge Robert Scola said that in 2016 and 2017, she had been warned by U.S. authorities not to circumvent such rules, making her conduct particularly “egregious.”
Prosecutors had asked for a heavier sentence of 30 to 37 months. But Scola said he was taking into account the nearly 14 months he spent in harsher conditions in a Colombian prison awaiting extradition. Gonzalez, who was confined at his daughter's home in Miami, has been released on bail but must surrender on June 6 before his sentence can begin.
Although trade in the skins Gonzalez used was not prohibited, the skins are subject to strict monitoring under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known by the acronym CITES. It belonged to a much-needed, protected wild animal.
Salma Hayek, Britney Spears and Victoria Beckham are among the celebrities who have purchased Gonzalez's carefully crafted handbags. Her work was also included in her 2008 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
In court, Mr. Gonzalez's lawyers showed a 2019 video of top buyers, including Bergdorf Goodman and Saks, praising Mr. Gonzalez for his creativity, productivity and humanity — prosecutor Watts Fitzgerald said. The vendor commented that there is a high possibility that he regrets it today.
“I'm sure they regret what happened to them. They would be horrified to hear that presented in court. They have their own brand to protect. ,” Watts-Fitzgerald said.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
