Eltingville husband and wife indicted in federal cigarette smuggling scheme

Fourteen people, including a Staten Island husband and wife, were indicted on federal charges for allegedly smuggling contraband cigarettes from southern states to sell in New York.
The defendants made a “substantial profit,” officials said, by purchasing large quantities of cigarettes in Missouri and Georgia, where the state tax is significantly cheaper, and selling them in New York, according to a 14-count indictment handed down Feb. 18 and unsealed last Thursday.
New York, which imposes a combined state-local tax of $5.85 per package compared with 22 cents in Missouri, lost more than $20 million as a result, according to a U.S. Department of Justice statement.
 

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