Cuff Ozone Pk. Man With Counterfeit Smokes
An Ozone Park man has been charged with engaging in the sale of untaxed cigarettes and the possession of counterfeit tax stamps after an investigator assigned to the District Attorney’s Crimes Against Revenue Unit allegedly observed the defendant delivering a bag containing cartons of cigarettes to the corner newsstand across the street from the District Attorney’s Kew Gardens office.
Reportedly, the cigarette packs in the bag allegedly bore counterfeit New York tax stamps. During a court-authorized search warrant at the defendant’s residence thereafter, more than 120,000 alleged counterfeit joint State of New York/City of New York tax stamps were recovered.
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown identified the defendant as Jose A. Urena, 45, of 80th Street, who faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Urena was charged with first-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, criminal possession of forgery devices, seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and violating the NewYork State tax law.
“Cigarette smuggling to evade state and local taxes is a multimillion dollar industry. It is a highly profitable tax-free cash business for those involved in it,” Brown said in a statement. “However, it cheats taxpayers who must dip into their pockets to pay higher taxes. And it cheats the government as well by fueling an underground economy which does not pay much needed state and city taxes.”
“Each stamp on a lawfully stamped pack of cigarettes represents $6.66 of excise and sales tax that would have been paid to New York State and New York City,” Brown added. “Consequently, in this particular case, the alleged counterfeit stamps seized represent a potential loss of approximately $800,000 in tax revenue.”
According to the criminal charges, Detective-Investigator John Warner of the District Attorney’s Detective Bureau is presently assigned to the DA’s Crimes Against Revenue Unit and has been involved in the investigation of the possession, transportation and sale of contraband cigarettes in Queens County.
As Detective Warner was returning from court to his office at 80-02 Kew Gardens Rd. at approximately 10:15 a.m. last Thursday, Apr. 17, he allegedly observed Urena delivering a bag appearing to contain cigarettes to a corner newsstand located at 80th Avenue and Queens Boulevard.
An inspection of the bag and two additional bags in the vehicle that Urena arrived in allegedly revealed that the bags contained 41 cartons of cigarettes (or 410 packs of cigarettes). It is additionally alleged that 350 of the packs bore purported Commonwealth of Virginia tax stamps on them and not the joint State of New York/City of New York tax stamps required to be present on cigarettes possessed for sale in New York.
The remaining 60 packs allegedly bore counterfeit joint State of New York/City of New York tax stamps.
At the time of his arrest, $5,532 in cash was allegedly recovered from Urena’s person and vehicle. It is further alleged that Urena made statements to investigators to the effect that he buys cigarettes and forged tax stamps and that the cigarettes he was caught with were stamped at his house and that he still had counterfeit stamps there.
Urena also allegedly indicated that he stamped cigarettes for other individuals and/or businesses as well.
At approximately 4 p.m. last Thursday, Detective Warner and members of his investigative team executed a court-authorized search warrant at Urena’s residence. Inside the location, the investigative team allegedly recovered 123,830 counterfeit joint State of New York/City of New York tax stamps with various tax numbers displayed that were affixed on 774 rectangular wax sheets.
Also allegedly recovered from Urena’s residence were records that indicated the delivery of various cigarette brands to individuals, a money counter, $3,546 in cash, a heater/iron (that is often used to adhere counterfeit tax stamps to packs of cigarettes purchased out-ofstate) and a small bag of cocaine.
Brown said that all cigarette packages sold in NewYork City must bear a joint NewYork City/NewYork State tax stamp and only a licensed stamping agent can possess untaxed cigarettes and affix the tax stamp on the packages, which come on rolls and not sheets.
The investigation was conducted by Detectives John Warner, JeffreyA. Boyce, Joseph Brancaccio, John J. Keeley and David Matos of the DA’s Detective Bureau, under the supervision of Sgt. Liz Curcio and Lt. Robert Burke, and the overall supervision of Chief Investigator Franco Russo. Also involved in the investigation was Special Agent David Mondanaro of the Department of Homeland Security.
Assistant District Attorney Andrew H. Kaufman, chief of the Crimes Against Revenue Unit, and Assistant District Attorney Michael- Sean Spence are prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Anthony M. Communiello, bureau chief of the District Attorney’s Special Proceedings Bureau, and Oscar W. Ruiz, deputy bureau chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.
It was noted that criminal charges are merely an accusation and that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
