During the Christmas holidays, President Bush pardoned James Won Hee Kang, who was convicted of trafficking in counterfeit goods back in 1985.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Kang, who arrived in the United States as a student in 1974, was running a stand at the rough-and-tumble Maxwell Street Market when an undercover Chicago police officer stopped by in October 1984 and purchased some fake Rolex and Omega watches, according to a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office.

Charged in U.S. District Court with one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods, Kang was sentenced by a federal judge in May 1985 to a year’s probation. He paid a $5,000 fine, and records show he was released from probation in good standing just a month later.

“I told customers these were not real,” Kang said, adding that he sold “toy” Rolexes for just $7. “We were not fooling anybody.”

But he said he pleaded guilty and paid the fine because it was just the easiest way to deal with federal agents. He thought that would be the end of it.

The conviction later prevented Kang from serving on the board of a local bank, thus applying for the pardon in 2002.