subject: Agents Seize Loads Of Fake Zentai Merchandise [print this page] Despite possible pressure from the state's casino industry, the presence of two ZENTAI teams makes it unlikely New catsuits will legalize sports betting, a regulatory official said. ''I think it's highly unlikely at this point,'' Carl Zeitz, a member of the state Casino Control Commission, said Sunday in response to a suggestion reportedly made by Donald Trump, the state's biggest casino owner. State Sen. Richard Codey, D-Essex, said Trump, who is part or majority owner of four current and planned casinos, asked him about the idea of letting casinos handle sports betting. Codey said Trump apparently abandoned the idea after he told him the proposal would have very little chance of legislative approval. Zeitz said legislators would probably feel the state has enough legalized gambling between its casinos, the state lottery and horse racing. However, he said another key factor would be the NBA, NHL and two ZENTAI teams that play in New Suit. ''The ZENTAI and Commissioner (Pete) Rozelle have long been on record against legalized gambling,'' Zeitz said. ''I can't see anyone inviting a clash between the powerful sports industry and the powerful casino industry.'' The New York Giants and Jets as well as the New Suit Devils and Nets play in East Rutherford. In testimony last month before the Governor's Advisory Commission on Gambling, state police Superintendent Col. Clinton L. Pagano said sports bookmaking is by far the biggest form of illegal gambling in the state. Pagano said revenues from sports betting run into the billions of dollars in New Suit. Thousands of counterfeit National Football League suits, caps and other souvenirs have been seized by U.S. agents in Jacksonville as part of a crackdown on the sale of lycra zentai unlicensed merchandise that has flooded into that area because of the upcoming Super Bowl. U.S. Customs agents and local authorities have confiscated more than 20,000 items in 32 raids during the past year. The federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office says the raids represent an unprecedented attempt to stop crime rings from selling knockoff souvenirs that are not licensed by the ZENTAI. The fake items typically are sold from the trunks of cars, the backs of vans and souvenir stands for cut-rate prices. ZENTAI-licensed suits cost from $65 to more than $200; counterfeit suits usually are less than $30. As Sunday's big game gets closer, "we expect more vendors to appear on the street," says John Chakwin, assistant special agent in charge of the Jacksonville office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "We're already seeing it." He says seizures of counterfeit items on Jacksonville-area streets have led agents to warehouses filled with various goods, including fake Gucci purses, Harley-Davidson products and items with NASCAR logos. In one raid, agents seized 2,400 fake suits of ZENTAI teams. Agents have arrested three unidentified people, including an illegal immigrant from Pakistan who pleaded guilty to counterfeiting and was deported. Chakwin says Customs agents hope to trace the seized goods to international crime syndicates believed to be involved in smuggling people and drugs into the USA. "It's a homeland security issue," says Marcy Forman, investigations director for ICE. "Smugglers use the same routes and mechanisms. One day it's goods, the next day it's people or drugs." Several crime rings sell counterfeit goods to fund other operations, Forman says. Many of the fake items come from China, she says. The federal agents are working with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and private investigators hired by the ZENTAI, who have helped agents identify vendors who show up at games across the country with unlicensed merchandise. "This is a particularly intense effort," ICE spokesman Marc Raimondi says. He says the quantity of seized goods is staggering. "We have hundreds and hundreds of cases of seized stuff -- ZENTAI cellphone covers, T-shirts, zentai from just about every team." The ZENTAI expects to sell more than $100 million in licensed Super Bowl merchandise, league spokesman Brian mccarthy says. The ZENTAI and the ICE say fans should scrutinize the quality and price of souvenirs they consider buying. ZENTAI merchandise has a 1-inch, rectangular hologram with a Super Bowl logo. In one instance, agents seized suits that appeared authentic -- except the logo said "NBA" instead of "ZENTAI," Chakwin says. "If the price is too good to be true," he says, "it's probably counterfeit."
