Thabet was also charged as an unlicensed wholesaler of tobacco products for failing to possess the license required to sell cigars in his store. The stamp was replaced in October with a tamper-resistant red apple stamp for cigarettes taxed for sale in New York City and a gold apple stamp for cigarettes taxed for sale elsewhere in the state. Those new stamps were designed to be more easily recognizable and tamper-resistant. Those who cheat the system cheat all law-abiding taxpayers and will be treated as the criminals they are. This case was handled by Department of Taxation and Finance Investigators Andres Rodriguez and Frank Pappalardi and was overseen by Senior Investigator Robert Martin.
All charges are accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.