6 times • MARCH 3, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com Authorities uncovered Ridgewood man’s illegal cigarette stash in an Ozone Park garage BY ANTHONY GIUDICE agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com @A_GiudiceReport Detectives smoked out a Queens man’s scheme to illegally sell a bounty of untaxed cigarettes, costing the state nearly a half million dollars in tax revenue, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced on Monday. Officers from the 102nd Precinct discovered a garage in Ozone Park filled with of tens of thousands of counterfeit tax stamps, along with hundreds of thousands of cigarettes belonging to the defendant — identified as Ayad Sharhan, 34, of Cornelia Street in Ridgewood. According to the charges, police executed a court-authorized search warrant on Feb. 26, at a garage located at 101-09 97th Ave. in Ozone Park. Inside the garage, investigators allegedly recovered 60,000 fraudulent New York State cigarette tax stamps. Investigators also allegedly found an iron, which is commonly used to apply the illegal stamps onto the packs of cigarettes. Also allegedly seized were 1,382 cartons — with each carton containing 10 packs of cigarettes — and another 150 individual packs of cigarettes. In all, 279,600 individual cigarettes were allegedly seized along with stamps. According to the complaint, Sharhan appeared at the garage while the police were present and allegedly stated that the merchandise inside the garage belonged to him and that “I have a lot of stuff I’m not supposed to have.” “Cigarette smuggling to evade sales taxes is a multimillion-dollar industry. It is a highly profitable, tax-free, cash business for those involved in it,” Brown said. “But selling untaxed cigarettes cheats taxpayers who must dip deeper into their pockets and pay higher taxes because of these kinds of schemes. Each stamp on a lawfully stamped pack of cigarettes represents both excise and sales tax that would have been paid to New York state and New York City. Consequently, in this particular case, the alleged counterfeit stamps and cigarettes seized Officers from the 102nd Precinct confiscated hundreds of thousands of untaxed cigarettes from a Woodhaven garage. represent a potential loss of approximately $493,000 in tax revenue.” Sharhan was arraigned on Friday, Feb. 26, before Queens Criminal Court Judge Peter Vallone on charges of first-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, criminal possession of forgery devices, cigarette and tobacco products tax/attempt to evade or defeat tax, cigarette and tobacco products tax and possession or transportation of untaxed cigarettes with intent to sell. Sharhan was released him on his own recognizance and is scheduled to return to court on March 21. If convicted, Sharhan faces up to 15 years in prison. Legitimate tax stamps come in rolls and each stamp has a unique number. Photo via Twitter/@NYPD102Pct The stamps confiscated from the garage allegedly were printed on sheets and each stamp had an identical number. Brown noted that all cigarette packages sold in New York City must bear a joint New York City/New York state tax stamp and only a licensed stamping agent can possess untaxed cigarettes and affix the tax stamp on the packages. Pick up this mixed-use building on Ridgewood’s Myrtle Avenue for $1.65M BY ANTHONY GIUDICE agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com @A_GiudiceReport A three-story, mixed-use building located in the heart of Ridgewood is on the market for $1.65 million. Cushman & Wakefield has been retained on an exclusive basis to sell the building at 59-30 Myrtle Ave., which sits on a 20-foot by 80-foot lot and has approximately 3,300 square feet of space. The property is comprised of a retail unit on the ground floor with two three-bedroom units on the second and third floors. The commercial unit has stable tenancy with a lease featuring 3 percent increases every two years until 2022. One of the residential units may be delivered vacant upon sale. The building is within walking distance to the M train at Forest Avenue as well as the L train at both the Halsey Street and Myrtle- Wyckoff Avenues stations. Photo via Google Maps The three-story, mixed-use building at 59-30 Myrtle Ave. is on sale for $1.65 million. Building plan for Glendale tops CB 5 meeting on March 9 Two zoning variances for a proposed mixed-use building in Glendale will headline the agenda at the next Community Board 5 (CB 5) meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 9, in Middle Village. As announced by District Manager Gary Giordano, the session will take place beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the cafeteria of Christ the King Regional High School, located at 68-02 Metropolitan Ave. The agenda includes a public hearing regarding two applications submitted to the Board of Standards and Appeals by the law firm Sheldon Lobel P.C. for a zoning variance to build a two-story (with a cellar) mixed-use building at 73-45 Myrtle Ave. (also known as 78-70 74th St.). The variance would permit ground-floor commercial use and residential use on the second floor, which is contrary to the existing floor area ratio for the site, as well as other regulations within the existing R4-1 zoning district. The second application would seek a waiver to permit the development of this building partially within the bed of a mapped street. The hearing will be followed by a presentation of OneNYC (formerly PlaNYC), which focuses on the long-term sustainability, resilience, equity and growth of the city. There will also be a presentation on the schematic plan for the reconstruction of soft surface ballfields at Principe Park in Maspeth. The agenda also includes reports from Chairperson Vincent Arcuri and District Manager Giordano; a review of liquor license applications and demolition notices; the public forum; and committee reports. For additional information or to register to speak in advance, call CB 5 at 718-366-1834.
RT03032016
To see the actual publication please follow the link above