SI Live – by Frank DonnellySTATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — With winter fast approaching, a cop from Staten Island tried to make a few extra bucks by peddling some warm North Face jackets in his spare time.
But the merchandise Marc Florida was selling wasn’t the real McCoy, prosecutors allege.
Florida, 42, was arrested Thursday in Brooklyn, during a sting operation, for selling counterfeit goods, according to court papers and a law enforcement source.
At the time, Florida, who was off-duty, had just sold an undercover officer 50 bogus North Face jackets for $3,000, court records said.
Over the course of three transactions, the undercover cop bought 84 phony jackets for $5,300 from Florida, said court documents. The price was well below their retail value, court papers said.
Florida lives on the 400 block of Timber Ridge Drive, Bay Terrace.
A law enforcement source said police got wind earlier this year that Florida was selling North Face jackets on eBay
The NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau launched a probe, and an undercover cop arranged to buy nine jackets in-person from Florida for $700, said the source.
The deal occurred July 16 on 60th Street in Brooklyn between Third and Fourth Avenue, the source said. The nine jackets were packaged in individual garbage bags with the words “The North Face” written on them, said court documents.
Florida told the cop he knew the goods weren’t authentic, and he could try to find him counterfeit shirts, shorts, jeans and sneakers if he wanted, court papers said.
A check of the merchandise revealed the North Face logo was inaccurate, said court documents.
After a hiatus of several months, the deals heated up as the weather turned chilly.
On Dec. 7, Florida sold the cop 25 phony jackets for $1,600, court papers said. The transaction occurred on Prospect Park West and 18th Street in Brooklyn, said the source.
The final sale occurred Thursday, again on 60th Street, court papers and the source said.
Florida was arraigned Thursday in Brooklyn Criminal Court and charged with multiple felony counts of trademark counterfeiting, said a spokesman for Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. (Joe) Hynes, whose office is prosecuting the case.
He’s also accused of multiple misdemeanor counts of trademark counterfeiting, criminal possession of a forged instrument and criminal facilitation, the spokesman said.
Florida remains free on his own recognizance.
Neither he nor his attorney immediately responded to telephone messages left Friday seeking comment.
Florida, a seven-year NYPD veteran, has been suspended, a police spokesman said.
He was assigned to the 72nd Precinct in Brooklyn, said the spokesman.
The spokesman said the case remains under IAB investigation
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