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Politician Calls Cops On Kids’ Cupcake Sale

Lawmaker Refuses Interview After Newspaper Blows Whistle

November 15, 2010 10:50 PM
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(credit: Flickr)

(credit: Flickr)

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NEW CASTLE, N.Y. (CBS 2/WCBS 880/1010 WINS) – Call it a “cupcake crime.”

Two 13-year-old boys from Westchester County set up what they thought was a simple, harmless bake sale.

That is, until the police showed up.


WCBS 880′s Catherine Cioffi reports

1010 WINS Reporter Al Jones reports on the cupcake shutdown

Last month, Andrew DeMarchis and his friend Kevin Graff and two other boys decided to sell cupcakes to pick up spending money. They sold the cupcakes in Gedney Park in the town of New Castle, near Chappaqua. But when they went back the following Saturday the police said, wait a minute.

“And we had sold cupcakes, a whole bake sale, the week before and we had made a lot of money. And then we decided to go back the next weekend and do it again,” DeMarchis told CBS 2’s Pablo Guzman.

“A police officer pulled up and he told us to shut down our bake sale ‘cause we didn’t have a permit.”

“I was shocked. I couldn’t believe it. We didn’t know we needed a permit. We’re really rules followers and had we known we would have had one,” added Suzanne DeMarchis, Andrew’s mother.

Someone had complained to police about the boys using a public park to make money for themselves and not a charity. The Journal News newspaper found out through the Freedom of Information Act that that person was town board member Michael Wolfensohn. He refused Guzman’s request for an interview. New Castle Superintendent of Recreation and Parks Robert Snyder said that while a permit would normally have been required, there are allowances.

“Again, if it was kids, maybe I would charge them a dollar or something, if they were trying to make money for college or something like that. Just to teach them there’s a cost of doing business,” Snyder said.

“We didn’t expect to get as far as we did. We thought that it would be something that we would talk about and we would never actually do it,” Andrew DeMarchis said.

Andrew said they were going to take the profits and put them back into the business — not just spending money.

Warren Buffett, look out.

Normally, a permit for selling in the park requires a million dollar insurance guarantee. But the recreation superintendent now says something could be worked out.

Andrew’s mother said she’ll give the superintendent a call.

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  • Ken

    What I have noticed is that it is not mentioned what political party he is associated with. Obviously he is a Democrat. If he was a Republican it would have been reported that way.

  • Susan

    That’s what we need! More disincentives to kill the entrepreneurial spirit. It’s too bad he couldn’t just give them advice on how to get a permit so they could grow their business. But then that would mean he would know something of that process..

    • NJ Mom

      It really is odd that they would sell home baked goods outside of a school type bake sale, but Susan is right he should have given them info on how to get a permit and start a legit business……really……

  • Johnny

    But it’s the law! Thank god we have democrats like Schumer in office drafting essential laws like this to protect us from a kiddie cupcake sale!

  • janejoey

    What a jerk

  • Kimmy

    This is as A$$ hole of the first degree.

    He needs to apologize to these kids.

    Can you imagine working in this A$$ hole’s office?

  • rochlemon

    I think this comes under the heading don’t use a hammer when a fly swatter will do. If governments are serious about maintaining the law, perhaps a few codes should be fashioned to address minor business situations. It would be a great opportunity to provide a small course for minors on proper food care and methods of distribution and give them a short term license at no charge for taking the course. Ok, more red tape. What was I thinking!

  • Patty

    YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME !!!! In my eyes this guy just won THE BIGGEST JERK OF THE YEAR AWARD. He is an elected official. We will keep this incident in mind come the elections.

  • shawn healy

    damn kids, shouldn’t they be in a GANG, at 13 years old !
    are you kidding me ?

  • Abner

    Hope Adolph doesn’t have any kids. If he does I feel sorry for them

  • angela

    What. a. JERK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • joe d

    the people should call for his resignation .maybe the 2 entrepeneurs could show this guy how to create a job

    • james

      maybe if he was doing his job in the first place he wouldn’t have time to call police on kids selling cupcakes. Or maybe he’s upset because their cupcakes taste better than his wifes’

  • abraham

    One Question to the Residents :
    Does this IDIOT still hold his position ? Sounds like this guy needs to be in D.C., he’d fit right in the usual crowd.

  • abner

    The chances are that a bakery owner called the politician.

  • mike

    There was a little kid in Central Park with a small lemon aid stand. Government closed him down. They rather have a kid out there robbing you.

  • tomdiservio

    thats great cupcake kids and seat belts for soccer moms now we can all sleep safe tonite knowing wqe are fully protected from these rascals!!!!! I wonder how many junkies these cops past in the park to get at the kids!!!

  • Nick

    Incredibly dumb.

  • alexis

    I bet americans vote for him next elections just like they did for Bush as a reward for sending people to get killed without a reason in Iraq

    • Ann Marie Kellett

      Congratulations Alexis, you have set the gold standard for most idiotic post of the day. Keep up the good work. Maybe next time you could read the story and actually comprehend it.

    • DCLaw-1

      Hi Alexis!! Knee jerk much? Very good analogy, very good……..

  • mike

    This is what the government is all about. Money, money, money. I remember when there were shoe shine kids on the streets. Can’t do that anymore. Don’t we have a wonderful governement? Local, or federal.

    • Michael H.

      I see shoe shine stations all over the city. They’re just not kids anymore.

  • Michael H.

    Doesn’t Wolfensohn have anybody his own size to pick on?

    These kids are far bigger than sniveling little weasels, after all…

  • David Allen

    Wolfensohn was probably upset because the youngsters didn’t donate (wink wink) part of their profits to his political party in exchange for permission to sell their goods.

  • R Raj eL

    He did WHAT?

    The 2-bit punk…give him my email address; I’ll tell it to him via the internet, and I’ll tell it to him to his face as well.

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