Smuggling Indictment

For the past four years the Alliance has been screaming about the black market in non-taxed cigarettes coming out of Indian tribes on Long Island. In yesterday's Newsday the paper reports that DA Spota in Suffolk County has taken some strong action. Spota's actions put the Pataki administration to shame.

The DA has, after a nine month undercover investigation, indicted a number of people for profiting from nontaxed cigarette smuggling. 50,000 cartons were recovered and it is estimated that the smuggling scheme has cost the city and state tens of millions of dollars every year.

Even more disturbing is the fear expressed by DA Spota that a percentage of the illegally gotten loot is being sent to terrorists in the Middle East. This is another point that that we have been making without getting any appropriate reactions from the Bloomberg administration. It seems more concerned with snuffing out the butts than in making sure that the lawbreakers don't profit from the black market- at the expense of city shopkeepers.