Rob Halgren wrote in message ...

rant
So the trick is to stand up and take it like a man (or woman).? Yes
officer, I know I was speeding with a truckfull of illegal ladyslippers,
duty free cigarettes, and backyard moonshine towards a preschool... My
bad... Maybe I'd only get three months probation and have to give up
the cigarettes.

Just a guess, but the disparity of the sentences may have something to
do with the number of plants imported/smuggled and whether or not the
accused stood to gain financially from the illegal activity. Since
all Phrags are appendix I, it probably doesn't matter legally that
Kovach smuggled a spectacular new species, and Norris smuggled
bog-standard phrags that are well known in cultivation. Kovach
brought in one (or a few?) CITES I orchid, and used it for species
identification. That may have been considered personal use or
something similar. Norris is alleged to have brought in many plants
and offered them for sale.