A celeb purse designer whose merchandise have been utilized by Britney Spears and on Intercourse And The Metropolis has been jailed for smuggling crocodile purses into the US for vogue exhibits.
Nancy Gonzalez, 71, admitted recruiting couriers to hold as many as 4 merchandise every on business flights from her native Colombia to the US for New York Trend Week, amongst different high-profile occasions.
Gonzalez, who was arrested in 2022 in Cali, and later extradited to the US, was sentenced to 18 months in a federal courtroom in Miami on Monday for breaking US wildlife legal guidelines.
The purses, made out of the hides of caiman and pythons bred in captivity, have been value as a lot as $2m (£1.6m), prosecutors stated, however the designer’s attorneys stated every pores and skin price solely round $140 (£113).
Generally she didn’t receive the right import permits from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, one thing backed by a broadly ratified worldwide treaty governing the commerce in endangered and threatened species, the courtroom heard.
Holding again tears, Gonzalez instructed the courtroom earlier than sentencing that she deeply regretted not totally complying with US legal guidelines.
She stated: “From the underside of my coronary heart, I apologise to america of America. I by no means supposed to offend a rustic to which I owe immense gratitude. Underneath stress, I made poor choices.”
Salma Hayek, Britney Spears and Victoria Beckham are amongst celebrities who purchased Gonzalez’s rigorously crafted purses.
Her work was additionally included in a 2008 exhibition on the Metropolitan Museum of Artwork in New York.
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In courtroom, her attorneys performed a 2019 video of high consumers from Bergdorf Goodman, Saks and others praising the designer’s creativity, productiveness and humanity.
However prosecutor Thomas Watts-Fitzgerald stated the retailers “have to be regretting they have been ever put as much as that and in the event that they heard it was introduced in courtroom they might cringe”.
“They’ve their very own model to guard,” he added.
Mr Watts-Fitzgerald, who in contrast Gonzalez’s behaviour to that of drug traffickers, stated her actions have been “all pushed by the cash”.
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Her attorneys pleaded for leniency for the girl, who, they stated, created “the very first luxurious, high-end vogue firm from a 3rd world nation,” which later competed with trade giants like Dior, Prada and Gucci.
In addition they argued that just one% of the merchandise she imported into the US lacked correct papers and have been samples for New York Trend Week and different occasions.
Prosecutors had been in search of a stiffer sentence of 30 to 37 months. However the choose stated he was taking into consideration the almost 14 months she spent in a Colombian jail awaiting extradition.
She was ordered to start her sentence on 6 June.
