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Businesses selling illicit cannabis will face the loss of tobacco, liquor, or gaming licenses in new landmark legislation
Assemblymember John Zaccaro, Jr., along Assemblymember Yudelka Tapia, State Senator Nathalia Fernandez, and community advocates rallied on Saturday to highlight critical legislation to protect residents and bolster good standing community businesses by targeting retailers, smoke shops, bodegas, and delis where illicit cannabis is sold.
“In pursuit of a safe and fair regulated cannabis marketplace, it’s important that we establish clear boundaries and consequences for those who choose to operate outside the legal framework,” said Senator Nathalia Fernandez. “This legislation is critical step in dismantling the illicit market, ensuring consumer safety, and maintaining the integrity of New York’s regulated cannabis industry.”
Bill A9520/S8847 would allow for the revocation of licenses to sell cigarettes, tobacco products, alcohol and lottery tickets for the possession or sale of illicit cannabis in violation of the cannabis law. If a retail dealer in cigarettes or tobacco products, or their agent, possesses or sells illicit cannabis their state-issued license is subject to a revocation period ranging from a period of one year for a first offense, increasing in severity to a period of revocation for five years for a third offense within five years.
To date in the Bronx, the task force has conducted more than 280 inspections, levied fines of more than $11 million, seized more than $4 million of illicit products, made 57 arrests, seized 409 pounds of cannabis flower/pre-rolls, 7,353 packages of THC edibles, and 14 edged and other weapons. This legislation is one more tool to keep bad actors from infiltrating our neighborhoods and protecting those who follow the law.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
This bill seems to be just like the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), and can be gotten around just like the illegal smoke shops are currently doing. It has no real teeth in it to close down any business dealing in illegal cannabis sales.
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that she has reached an agreement on proposed relief from two conspiracy theorists who launched a robocall campaign designed to prevent Black New Yorkers from voting by mail ahead of the 2020 election. In March 2023, a federal judge ruled in Attorney General James’ favor and found Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman liable for targeting Black voters and transmitting false and threatening messages intended to discourage voting. Under this agreement, Wohl and Burkman will pay up to $1.25 million for their wrongdoing.
“The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, and it belongs to everyone. We will not allow anyone to threaten that right,” said Attorney General James. “Wohl and Burkman orchestrated a depraved and disinformation-ridden campaign to intimidate Black voters in an attempt to sway the election in favor of their preferred candidate. Now they will pay up to $1.25 million to my office, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, and the individuals who were harmed by their scheme. My office will always defend the right to vote.”
Attorney General James filed a lawsuit against Wohl and Burkman in May 2021 after an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that they violated state and federal laws. While hiding behind their sham organization “Project 1599,” Wohl and Burkman orchestrated robocalls to threaten and harass Black communities with disinformation, including claims that mail-in voters would have their personal information disseminated to law enforcement, debt collectors, and the government. In August 2022, Attorney General James announced a settlement with robocalling platform Message Communications for its role in sending out the illegal robocall designed by Wohl and Burkman.
The Wohl and Burkman robocall campaign, which reached approximately 5,500 New Yorkers, sought to undermine and interfere with the then-ongoing efforts by New York state to fairly and safely administer its elections during the COVID-19 crisis and protect its citizens from voter intimidation and harassment. During the summer of 2020, voters received automated calls falsely claiming that voting by mail would cause the voter to be tracked for outstanding warrants, credit card debt, and mandatory vaccines, for example:
“Hi, this is Tamika Taylor from Project 1599, the civil rights organization founded by Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl. Mail-in voting sounds great, but did you know that if you vote by mail, your personal information will be part of a public database that will be used by police departments to track down old warrants and be used by credit card companies to collect outstanding debts? The CDC is even pushing to use records for mail-in voting to track people for mandatory vaccines. Don’t be finessed into giving your private information to the man, stay safe and beware of vote by mail.”
One New York voter who received the threatening robocall suffered severe anxiety and distress, and ultimately withdrew his voter registration. After voters received the robocall, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP) was forced to redirect considerable resources to address the false claims made in the call.
Under the agreement, Wohl and Burkman conceded a $1 million judgment to OAG, NCBCP, and individual plaintiffs. If Wohl and Burkman fail to pay at least $105,000 by December 31, 2024, and do not address the failure to pay within 30 days, the amount will increase to $1.25 million.
Attorney General James urges voters with election-related concerns to contact OAG by submitting a complaint online or calling 1-800-771-7755.
The OAG litigated this case alongside co-plaintiffs comprised of voters who received the robocall and NCBCP, all of whom are being represented by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.
Since its inception in May 2021, members of the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force (CFETF) have used a full range of tools to hold accountable fraudsters and other criminals who sought to exploit the government’s pandemic response for their personal gain. This work has resulted in:
To achieve these results, CFETF members have built a comprehensive program to identify fraud, recover assets, and hold wrongdoers accountable. This has included:
But our work isn’t done. To continue CFETF’s essential mission—and to ensure that COVID-19 fraudsters don’t get away with it—legislation is required. This includes:
To learn more, download CFETF’s 2024 Annual Report, available at justice.gov.
On April 4, the United States transferred over 5,000 AK-47s, machine guns, sniper rifles, and RPG-7s, and over 500,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces. These armaments were seized by U.S. Central Command and partner naval forces from four flagless vessels in the Arabian Sea enroute from Iran to Yemen, where sanctioned groups including Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directly support the Houthi movement. The Department of Justice then filed a civil forfeiture action against the seized munitions, resulting in a Dec. 1, 2023, order by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia transferring title to the United States.
“With this weapons transfer, the United States government is both disrupting Iran’s destabilizing efforts and supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s brutal, unprovoked invasion,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will continue to use our legal authorities, including forfeiture, to support the Ukrainian people in their fight for freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.”
According to court documents in the civil forfeiture action, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command seized the weapons from four interdictions of stateless dhow vessels: two from 2021 and two from 2023. These interdictions led to the discovery and seizure of four large caches of conventional weapons, including long arms and anti-tank missiles, and related munitions – all of which were determined to be primarily of either Iranian, Chinese, or Russian origin.
This action followed the government’s successful March 2023 forfeiture action against over one million rounds of ammunition en route from Iran to Yemen, which were also transferred to the Ukrainian armed forces. These forfeiture actions addressed the illicit trafficking of advanced conventional weapons systems and components by sanctioned Iranian entities that directly support military action by the Houthi movement in Yemen and the Iranian regime’s campaign of terrorist activities throughout the region. The forfeiture complaints alleged sophisticated schemes by the IRGC to clandestinely ship weapons to entities that pose grave threats to U.S. national security.
The HSI Washington Field Office and the DCIS Mid-Atlantic Field Office are leading the larger investigation of the Iranian weapons-smuggling network, with substantial assistance from the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in conducting the seizures.
