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Friday, March 29, 2024

Aide to Pupa Rebbe Arrested in Illegal Cigarette Scam

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Rabbi Meshulam Rothschild, an aide to the Pupa Rebbe, has been arrested for selling illegal cigarettes to stores in New York City and cheating the state out of approximately $200,000 in taxes. Rothschild was nabbed together with several other suspects in a raid on a warehouse in Williamsburg conducted by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office and officers from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

According to the charges, Rothschild allegedly traveled to Virginia, where he purchased massive amounts of untaxed cigarettes, and then sold them to stores in Chinatown and bodegas citywide. He reportedly sold as many as 3,600 cartons of cigarettes a week, causing New York State to lose about $50 in tax revenue on each carton. When many of the store owners became reluctant to buy Rothschild’s cigarettes because they did not bear the required tax stamp, the Rebbe’s aide returned them to Virginia to be imprinted with a counterfeit tax stamp. He has thus been charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument for allegedly possessing more than 11,000 phony tax stamps from the Old Dominion state, which could lead to a sentence of fifteen years imprisonment.

The other individuals arrested for involvement in the scam were Nasmi Havolli, 51; his son Nart, 20; and Nasmi’s nephew Blerim, 24. Authorities have disclosed that, in total, twenty-three people have been arrested for cheating the state and city out of more than $2 million in cigarette taxes. A small portion of the money has been recovered through forfeitures. “I want to send a clear message that tax cheats, no matter how they try to deprive the citizens of this state of legitimate revenue, they will be arrested and prosecuted,” said District Attorney Hynes. “Since this investigation is not over, others who believe that they are above the law and seek to evade cigarette taxes, should take heed of what happened to these defendants.”

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