From: District Attorney Queens County
Queens County District Attorney Richard A.Brown announced today that two men from Queens have been charged with engaging in the illegal distribution of untaxed cigarettes. Police executed court-authorized search warrants and allegedlyfound hundreds of thousands of cigarettes. If legally sold, the cartons of cigarette packs would have generated tens of thousands of dollars in revenue for the state.
The illegal sale of untaxed cigarettes is a million dollar industry-a business venture that cheats the city and state out of much-needed revenue. Schemes like the one alleged here, mean every taxpayer must dig deeper to pay higher taxes,” said District Attorney Brown. “Each stamp on a legal pack of cigarettes represents both excise and sales tax that would have been paid to both New York State and New York City.The cigarettes allegedly seized in this case did not have the proper tax stamp.”
