MIAMI -- (AP) -- A former Playboy playmate broke into tears as she apologized before being sentenced Tuesday to 21 months in federal prison for helping her husband buy $209,000 worth of cocaine from an undercover agent.

 ``My only crime was to cover up for my husband. I honestly didn't believe that it was something so serious,'' Cuban-born Maria Luisa Gil said through a Spanish
 interpreter. ``I understand that covering for him has taken me to a very negative, a very low point in my life.''

 Pedro Pajes, 45, her husband of five months at the time of her arrest last January, earlier received a life sentence as a repeat offender.

 Gil, 23, who appeared in Playboy's June 1998 issue, originally faced a possible 15-year sentence on cocaine trafficking charges. But she pleaded guilty to failing to report a felony, making her eligible for a sentence of 21 to 27 months in prison.

 ``She got a great deal from the government in this case,'' said Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Ferguson.

 Her sentencing was delayed once when U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore rejected as too weak her statement accepting responsibility for the crime. She met with prosecutors and wrote a new one saying, ``I painfully admit my involvement.''

 ``Hopefully, this has taught her a great lesson,'' said defense attorney Ricardo Sanchez.

 Pajes, who was accused of running a cocaine trafficking business, met with undercover drug agents to discuss the terms of a drug deal, which started at 220 pounds and ended at 24 pounds.

 Gil was not present for the negotiations. Her task was to turn over the money in a duffel bag.

 Gil, formerly of Chicago, has been promised work by Playboy and a mortgage company she once worked for when she is released, Sanchez said.

 Ordinarily, she would face deportation after her prison term as a noncitizen with a felony record. But Cuba and the United States have no deportation agreement, and she will be allowed to stay in the United States.

                                    © 2001 The Miami Herald