NEW YORK — Police seized more than $12 million in counterfeit apparel with fake labels from Louis Vuitton, The North Face, Sean John, Rocawear, Baby Phat and other brands in a Manhattan warehouse raid on Monday night. It was the NYPD’s biggest-ever bogus goods bust, authorities said.
Rooms in the building at 1158 Broadway were packed from floor to ceiling with counterfeit apparel, including National Basketball Association and National Football League merchandise and footwear from Nike and Timberland, police and Mayor’s Office of Midtown Enforcement officials said.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and city Criminal Justice Coordinator John Feinblatt said that the raid — carried out in the final days of the holiday selling season — was a highlight of the anticounterfeiting initiative that was launched in December 2003 by the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“We estimate five [tractor] trailers of goods will be filled before the day is out,” Kelly said during a news conference in front of the building at Broadway and 27th Street.
In a written statement, the mayor said: “Trademark counterfeiting…deceives consumers, it costs the city billions of dollars in lost tax revenue and it puts the safety of our residents in jeopardy.’’
Todd Kahn, chief operating officer of Sean John, said in an interview, “We definitely feel what a problem it is for us….it really undermines what we try to do.’’
The raid on Monday was the 10th and largest conducted in 2004, bringing the value of goods seized to more than $20 million, the mayor’s office said. Feinblatt said the city has collected about $500,000 in fines.
Nine of the 10 buildings that have been raided have remained closed, while the other has been leased to a legitimate business, city officials said.
Police did not provide details on arrests, the identity of the building owner or the specifics of the investigation.
The building’s four floors housed 49 rooms, each filled with counterfeit merchandise, said deputy inspector Paul McCormack, commanding officer of the 13th Precinct. Business was primarily conducted by word of mouth, McCormack said during a tour of the building.
“This is a mall for illegal goods and we’re going to put a stop to it,” Feinblatt said at the news conference. “The building will be closed and we’ll be seeing the landlord in court.”
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As police officers seized goods, officials from the Fire Department and Department of Health conducted inspections that will result in orders to vacate and the closing of the building, according to a statement from the mayor’s office. The city plans to sue the owners of the building.
Kahn said he wasn’t surprised by the size of the seizure.
“Any brand that is important, whether the most luxurious or just one that is popular and more affordable, has had counterfeit problems,” he said. “Millions of dollars in goods in Sean John are being seized every year, so we know we’re only scratching the surface.”
Louis Vuitton applauded the crackdown. “New York City’s innovative, multiagency initiative to get counterfeit goods and the criminals who sell them off the streets is a true model for other cities to follow,” Jean Marc Gallot, chief executive officer of Louis Vuitton North America, said in a statement.
All the seized goods will be incinerated once they have been removed and inventoried, McCormack said.
Asked why the merchandise couldn’t be donated to charity, Kahn said, “We often donate clothes that are from a past season or are overruns. The problem is, the liability for a defective garment is the same whether it’s free or at cost. It’s still a billboard for your product so if it’s an inferior product it’s not acceptable.”