Florida man is charged with violating embargo

Although charges under the Trading with the Enemy Act have become more frequent in the past few years, prosecutions are rare.

By JANE BUSSEY
Herald Business Writer

Federal prosecutors have charged a Clearwater businessman with violating the economic embargo with Cuba for allegedly negotiating to build a multimillion-dollar airport, seaport and free trade zone in the Port of Mariel.

The business executive, Thomas H. Boylan, 43, who traveled frequently to Cuba, told undercover agents in October that he had invested nearly $1 million in the port development and carried around pictures of himself with Cuban Vice Minister Carlos Lage to show prospective investors, according to an arrest affidavit.

Boylan, who initially appeared before a federal magistrate in Tampa on Tuesday, was released on $80,000 bail. His attorney Bjorn Brunvand did not return a telephone call to his office.

According to the arrest affidavit from the U.S. Customs Department, a senior Department of Commerce employee was involved in assisting Boylan in his development project. The Commerce employee was not identified and has not been arrested.

Michael Seigel, first assistant U.S. attorney in Tampa, declined to comment on the case. ``The investigation is continuing,'' Seigel said.

Although charges under the Trading with the Enemy Act have become more frequent in the past few years, prosecutions are rare. The Office of Foreign Assets Control in the Treasury Department said there have been only 16 criminal prosecutions for nine violations since 1983. Nine of the cases have been in the past three years.

Although Boylan was seeking millions of dollars in investment for the project, The St. Petersburg Times reported he is a former Buick car salesman who has declared personal bankruptcy, and is being sued for divorce by his wife, who says in court papers that he has a house and girlfriend in Cuba.

U.S. investigators launched the probe into Boylan in late 1997 after Customs inspectors in Nassau found a letter of intent to develop the seaport and airport at Mariel in his luggage.

Boylan insisted he had not entered into a business transaction with anyone in Cuba, but a year-long investigation by Customs undercover agents revealed that Boylan was actively searching for investors for his project, according to the arrest affadavit.

Boylan had written a prospectus for his Sun International Holdings, incorporated in the Cayman Islands, that includes plans for the development, lease, labor, services and maintenance of the seaport, airport, land, warehouse/buildings at the port.

The prospectus also included a contract for the development of the Port of Mariel signed by Sun International and Cuban government officials.

Teo Babun, whose for-profit consulting firm, Cuba-Caribbean Development, follows port development on the island, said he knew nothing of the Mariel project.

``Mariel wasn't even in picture,'' Babun said. ``Of all the ports in Cuba, probably Mariel is in the most advanced stages. That is the port that the Cubans used to ship military supplies when they were involved in Angola.''

The embargo makes it illegal for Americans to spend money in Cuba or to engage in business transactions on the island without authorization from the Treasury Department or when the spending is for humanitarian reasons. The maximum penalties for violations are 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control determined last week that Boyland had committed numerous violations of the Trading with the Enemy Act, the affadavit said.