Those who believe Canal Street's abundance of counterfeits are a permanent fixture may be surprised to learn that the infamous "Counterfeit Triangle" has been disbanded, as 32 shops were ordered shut last Tuesday in a series of major civil lawsuits. Mayor Michael Bloomberg noted that the operation was one of his "biggest takedowns ever," calling the profits from counterfeiting "easy and sleazy."
After an undercover investigation spanning 40 shopping sprees, over $1 million in counterfeit goods were seized.
“Whoever you are, wherever you are, we are going to shut you down,” Mayor Bloomberg said at a news conference in the main hall of a mall on Canal St which housed some of the alleged offenders. Speaking among clear plastic bags chock full of hundreds of the confiscated counterfeits, Mr. Bloomberg spoke of money laundering and bloody gang wars over prime counterfeiting turf.
"It is organized crime," he said of counterfeiting--which saps $1 billion in taxes from Manhattan per year.
To read more about the takedown, visit the NYT "City Agents Shut Down 32 Vendors of Fake Items."
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