News Archive
2008 Articles
2007 Articles
2006 Articles
2005 Articles
2004 Articles
2003 Articles
2002 Articles
2001 Articles
2000 Articles
1999 Articles
Past Articles
|
|
The New York Times
June 23, 2002
THE KNOCKOFF SQUAD
Today, counterfeiting in New York goes far beyond Prada bags and Rolex watches. It can involve prescription drugs, computer software, food, cigarettes, liquor, baby formula, auto and airplane parts, perfume and steroid creams. It can even involve sweeteners, as it did a few years ago when packets of Equal, the sugar substitute made by the Monsanto Company, began mysteriously appearing in stores around the country.
To tackle the problem, Monsanto hired Michael Kessler, founder of an investigative firm, Kessler International, at Park Avenue and 45th Street. Mr. Kessler, a forensic accountant who has been the chief of tax investigations for the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, traced the counterfeits to a trading company in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. One day, as he cased the company’s building, he found his first tangible clue: scraps of fake Equal boxes in a Dumpster.
After more evidence had been gathered, Monsanto lawyers got a courts order to seize the trading company’s books. Using his accounting expertise, Mr. Kessler discovered that the company had been buying real Equal in the big boxes designed for restaurants and then illegally repacking them in smaller, counterfeit containers for sale in grocery stores.
"When people think of counterfeiting, they think of the guy on the street selling a Mickey Mouse watch," Mr. Kessler said. "It’s a lot more than that."
Author - Adam Fifield
|
|
