124 Counterfeit Super Bowl Tickets Seized In The Bronx; Suspect Arrested
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Bronx man was arrested and charged Thursday, after authorities allegedly found 124 counterfeit Super Bowl tickets.
A joint investigation by the NFL, the NYPD, and the Bronx District Attorney's Office Gangs and Major Case Bureau, led to the arrest of Kevin Walker, 42, of the Soundview section of the Bronx.
Walker was charged with grand larceny, trademark counterfeiting, criminal possession of a forged instrument, and criminal possession of forgery devices. He could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Investigators caught Walker leaving his apartment building carrying a shoebox, which he put in a van parked outside, prosecutors alleged. The investigators went to a third-floor apartment, and were told by a woman who lived there and owned the vehicle that Walker was also a resident, prosecutors said.
After obtaining permission to search the apartment and van, investigators found the 124 tickets, holographic paper, gold leaf paper, laminate glue, two packages of four-by-six photo paper, a cutter, and a hot press, prosecutors said.
The 124 phony tickets Walker allegedly created had a street value of $113,900, and were believed to be the largest single recovery of Super Bowl XLVIII tickets in New York City to date, prosecutors said.
Earlier this week, officials busted another sophisticated counterfeit ticket operation in Queens. Two men were arrested and charged for allegedly printing up tickets to Super Bowl week events, parking passes and Super Bowl XLVIII tickets.
Damon Daniels, 43, of the Bronx and Eugene Fladger, 32, of Philadelphia were allegedly selling the fake tickets online, the NYPD said.
Investigators found the pair's apparent "base of operation" at the home of Daniels' girlfriend in Jamaica, Queens, police said. They recovered a computer, printer and photo paper in addition to dozens of bogus tickets.
The duo allegedly whipped up bogus Super Bowl tickets, parking passes for MetLife stadium, tickets to the NFL Commissioner's party at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel and another party at Radio City Music Hall, Papa reported. They also allegedly sold bogus NHL Stadium Series tickets and NFL playoff tickets to games in Boston and Philadelphia.
Experts said the barcodes on Daniels and Fladger's phony tickets would have worked, potentially causing a logistics headache at MetLife Stadium.
Super Bowl XLVIII will kick off at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
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