Agents confiscate thousands of counterfeit goods at NBA All-Star Weekend

ORLANDO, Fla. — More than 2,500 counterfeit items were confiscated as the result of a joint operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Orlando Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff's Office during the 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend in Orlando.

"Counterfeiters prey on sports fans at events like the NBA All-Star Game," said Susan McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI in Tampa, Fla. "I urge buyers to beware. Counterfeiting is not a harmless crime. Counterfeiting costs U.S. businesses more than $200 billion each year and accounts for the loss of more than 750,000 American jobs."

During the days leading up to the NBA All-Star Game, HSI agents operated in teams throughout the Orlando-area, targeting suspicious activity that might lead them to counterfeiters. HSI agents seized counterfeit items including t-shirts, caps and jerseys. The items are valued at more than $69,000. Ten individuals were arrested for possessing or offering to sell counterfeit NBA merchandise in violation of Florida state law.

"The NBA is committed year-round to protecting both our fans and legitimate, tax-paying retailers from being victimized by counterfeiters seeking to profit illegally from the public's enthusiasm for the NBA," said Ayala Deutsch, senior vice president and chief intellectual property counsel for the NBA. "We greatly appreciate the tireless efforts of HSI, the Orlando Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff's Office throughout All-Star Weekend and are pleased to have their support in working to address this important issue."

As the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, HSI plays a leading role in targeting criminal organizations responsible for producing, smuggling, and distributing counterfeit products. HSI investigations focus not only on keeping counterfeit products off U.S. streets, but also on dismantling the criminal organizations behind this activity.

To report or learn more about intellectual property theft, visit IPRcenter.gov.

Three Florida Cop Novels

Police-Writers.com, a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books added three Florida police officers who have written fictional novels.

Lieutenant Steven H. Richardson, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (ret.) (Florida) is the author of Crossing the Chalk Line. Although a work of fiction, it has been described as “closer to reality than fiction in describing what happens when police do the wrong thing for the right reasons.” According to the book description, “When Deputy Mark Jacobs finds his training officer lying dead in the panhandle mud, he must patiently wait for the criminal justice system to prosecute the murderer. Unable to place the murderer at the crime scene, the prosecutor is forced to release the murderer back into the Olustee communities.”

Derwin J. Bradley is a police officer for the Orlando Police Department Florida), a former military bodyguard and counter-terrorist specialist with extensive experience and travel in Africa and Europe. Derwin Bradley has trained hundreds of police officers in defensive tactics and has provided advanced tactical police training to U.S. Army Special Forces, British Army Special Forces, Police SWAT Teams, and military bodyguards during his 23 years in law enforcement. He has lectured at national conferences on juvenile crime and unconventional gang enforcement tactics, and has written several police training and program manuals.

Derwin Bradley is the author of two books, Black and Blue: Understanding Modern Law Enforcement in your American and The Operator Fear No Evil. Bradley’s book The Operator Fear No Evil is a novel of political intrigue. That includes, according to the book description, “hardball politics, advanced technology, unconventional tactics, and a secret state-of-the-art operations center.”

G.J. Herrey is a retired police officer from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office (Florida). His novel is Sins, Stones and Glass Houses. According to the book description, “This novel begins in a city in Florida, where Zachary Naccarato, a decorated veteran, has just been awarded honors for catching a serial murderer. Shortly thereafter Sergeant Naccarato finds himself involved in a high stakes game of corruption, conspiracy, and murder. He is lured into the game of a madman, baited by his only true seduction: his quest for the truth. After a series of ritualistic murders are blamed on Naccarato, he is forced to resign from his career with the possibility of his arrest looming ever near. His life in disarray, Zach sets out to clear his name. Slowly, from the peripheral corners of each turned page, the killer emerges for an ultimate showdown. Conspiracy, betrayal, corruption, and the ultimate sin: homicide, are interwoven within the plot.”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 393 police officers (representing 166 police departments) and their 848 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.