
I Spent A Day With A Guy Selling Illegal Cigarettes On The Streets Of New York
It’s a cloudy and cool September morning on Staten Island when I make my way to Bay Street looking for someone to sell me illegal cigarettes. I don’t smoke, but ever since Eric Garner’s haunting death here a few months ago after the police approached him for selling “loosies”—individual, untaxed cigarettes—I’ve wanted to know how easy it is to find someone who will sell me illegal smokes on the street.
As I walk into a bodega across from Tompkinsville Park, which sits a couple of blocks from the Staten Island Ferry terminal, a tall, dark-skinned man overhears my conversation with the owner and offers me a pack of “Newps,” or Newports, for eight dollars. He tells me his name is Debo Lato. He’s 51 and his “office” is just outside the bodega, right in front of the spot where Garner was killed on July 17.
Related Posts
Chop Chop – Illegal tobacco issue worsening
The importation and sale of illegally imported tobacco is a worsening problem in...
India suffers huge loss from illicit trade: FICCI-CASCADE Report
New Delhi, June 13 (KNN) In India the total loss to the government on account of...
NIA names two Pakistani nationals in fake currency smuggling
JAIPUR: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday said it has filed a...
Counterfeit items worth Dh4m seized
Dubai Customs reveals figures on World Intellectual Property Day. Dubai Customs...