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Senator, Spitzer target Postal Service on tobacco shipments

Senator, Spitzer target Postal Service on tobacco shipments

By FRANK ELTMAN
Associated Press Writer

March 10, 2006, 3:25 PM EST

NEW YORK — The U.S. Postal Service is not doing enough to halt the illegal shipment of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco across the country, Sen. Charles Schumer charged Friday.

Schumer, joined by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, said he will introduce legislation next week in the Senate that will impose fines of at least $1,000 per offense and possible jail time for anyone convicted of mailing cigarettes through the Postal Service.

“The U.S. Mail has become the last refuge for online cigarette merchants and it”s time that this loophole be closed,” Schumer said.

Several states, including New York, have laws prohibiting or restricting the shipment of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco directly to consumers. Schumer said the federal legislation would ban the mailing of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, just as liquor, firearms, explosives are now.

He noted that in the past year, delivery companies including FedEx, UPS and DHL have agreed to stop shipping cigarettes.

Gerry McKiernan, a spokesman for the Postal Service, said unlike the other delivery services, federal statutes govern how items may be mailed.

“If you put a stamp on it, we have to deliver it; we have no choice,” McKiernan said. “Once you seal it, we can”t open it. The stamp seals the package against inspection unless you have a search warrant.”

McKiernan added that in areas of the country that are known shipping points for tobacco, window clerks have been directed to ask customers if their package contains cigarettes and whether the appropriate taxes have been paid.

He declined to specifically comment on Schumer”s legislation, saying the USPS attorneys would first have to review it.??

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SCHUMER AND SPITZER ANNOUNCE LEGISLATION TO BAN SHIPMENT OF TOBACCO THROUGH THE U.S. MAIL

March 10, 2006

Schumer to Introduce Legislation in U.S. Senate to Make Shipping Cigarettes through the Mail Illegal, Allow State AGs to Prosecute

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer today announced that they have teamed up to support legislation to stop the shipment of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco through the U.S. Mail.

At a joint news conference with Spitzer, held at New York’s historic Farley Post Office, Schumer announced his bill that would prohibit mailing cigarettes through the United States Postal Service, impose fines of at least $1,000 per offense and jail time for repeat offenders. The bill would also give state Attorneys General the ability to pursue those who ship tobacco in violation of the law.

“Passing this bill will be the final nail in the coffin for the sale of cigarettes on the Internet,” Schumer said. “The U.S. Mail has become the last refuge for online cigarette merchants and it’s time that this loophole be closed.”

“Working together we are attacking the problem of illegal cigarette shipments on both a state and national level,” Spitzer said. “The Postal Service has become the delivery arm of a massive criminal enterprise shipping contraband cigarettes nationwide. The legislation that Senator Schumer is introducing will ensure that the Postal Service gets out of the cigarette delivery business.”

Internet and mail order cigarette retailers operate in violation of numerous federal, state and local laws, including tax laws, age verification laws, delivery restrictions, reporting requirements, and federal wire fraud and mail fraud statutes. As a result, a coalition of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies has been working on several initiatives to stop these illegal sales, including federal and state criminal indictments of cigarette sellers, seizures of contraband cigarettes, and efforts to strengthen cigarette trafficking prohibitions.

Several states, including the New York, have laws prohibiting or restricting the shipment of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco directly to consumers. Senator Schumer’s bill would make cigarettes and smokeless tobacco non-mailable items, just as liquor, firearms, explosives and even automobile master keys may not be shipped through the U.S. Mail. In addition the legislation will allow the Postal Service to reject packages believed to contain tobacco products.

In the past year, DHL, FedEx and UPS have agreed to cease delivery of cigarettes to consumers throughout the United States. In addition, in March 2005, the major credit card companies all agreed to take steps to ensure that their credit card systems are not used to process payments that enable illegal cigarette sales. Finally, last month, Philip Morris USA (PM USA) reached an agreement with a coalition of 37 Attorneys General to cut off the supply of PM USA cigarettes to those engaged in such illegal sales.

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