MIAMI -- A college professor who pleaded guilty in a federal case involving allegations that he and his wife spied for Cuba's communist government and betrayed their fellow Cuban-American exiles by passing along information about community figures was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison. District Judge K. Michael Moore sentenced Carlos Alvarez, 61, and his 56-year-old wife Elsa on reduced charges they received in a federal plea deal. Carlos Alvarez also received three years probation. Elsa Alvarez was sentenced to three years in prison and one year of probation. That was the maximum sentence both could get under sentencing guidelines. Both Alvarezes apologized and took responsibility for their actions during a lengthy sentencing hearing. But they also said that they were not communists or supporters of Cuban President Fidel Castro, and were just trying to establish open dialogue with Cuba, where both were born before coming to the United States.
Several family members and friends offered emotional testimony on behalf of the couple's character. "We are extremely upset," said the couple's son, also named Carlos Alvarez, 40, after the hearing.
The government had asked for a 21-month sentence for Elsa Alvarez, but Moore exceeded that recommendation. "As we know, a good motive is never an excuse for criminal conduct," Moore said before sentencing. "Their behavior undermined U.S. foreign policy."