At $12 a pack for cigarettes, it pays to cheat in NY

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It doesn't take much coaxing to get otherwise legitimate Big Apple businesses into the illegal cigarette trade.

"They come out here like they are salesman from Pepsi or the potato-chip company," said the owner of a north Bronx bodega that sells smuggled Newports and Marlboros for $8 a pack.

"I don't know how the city is going to stop it. The city is losing a lot of tax money," he said. "They are killing themselves, because no one is paying $12 for a pack of cigarettes, and I'm not paying taxes on the money I make selling them."

His supplier provides him with cartons between $45 and $50 a pop, which gives him a $30- to $35-per-carton profit.

But he refused to sell counterfeit Marlboros and Newports smuggled in from China that wholesaled for just $30 a carton because customers said they "tasted like garbage."

Another store owner said his supply of untaxed cigarettes can be erratic.

"Whenever we get a chance, we buy them," he said. "They don't give their name or phone number because they're afraid of getting busted."More...