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NYPD Officer Arrested for Selling Counterfeit North Face Jackets, DA Says

By Aidan Gardiner | December 13, 2013 12:59pm
 Officer Marc Florida, 42, was arrested and awaiting charges including counterfeiting, police said.
Officer Marc Florida, 42, was arrested and awaiting charges including counterfeiting, police said.
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BROOKLYN — He was fleecing the public.

An off-duty NYPD officer was arrested Thursday afternoon after selling $5,300 in counterfeit North Face jackets to undercover investigators in Sunset Park three times since July, prosecutors said.

Police Officer Marc Florida, 42, was arrested after selling 50 fake jackets worth $3,000 to an undercover about 5:45 p.m. on 60th Street, near Third Avenue, police and prosecutors said.

He'd sold the faux jackets twice before to an undercover investigator hired by The North Face to track down counterfeit merchandise, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's office.

The North Face sells high-end outdoor wear and their jackets usually run about $300, but can cost as much as $1,250, according to the company's website.

The investigators could tell the jackets were fake because they were made of inferior materials and the lettering on the logos were connected, unlike the real thing.

During the first transaction on July 16, Florida packaged nine jackets in individual garbage bags each marked "The North Face" and sold them for $700, prosecutors said.

Florida admitted that the jackets were fake and that he'd be willing to find other counterfeit shirts, shorts, jeans, or sneakers, if the investigator wanted them, the Brooklyn DA said.

Then on Dec. 7, Florida sold two plastic bags full of 25 fleece jackets for $1,600 and set up the Thursday sale where he was ultimately arrested, prosecutors said.

In the same conversation, Florida even bragged how good the counterfeits were, saying he could sell the jackets on eBay to unsuspecting buyers for $100, prosecutors said.

Florida was also charged with possession of a forged instrument and criminal facilitation, meaning he helped others commit a crime, police said.

He was arraigned Friday and released, court records show.