Following the arrest of a Bergen man over the weekend for possessing several cartons of untaxed cigarettes purchased at an American Indian reservation, WBTA sent out their crack team of investigators to find out just where the legal line is drawn for buying smokes from a reservation.
It turns out, the law is not very tolerant on this issue. Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha told Dan Fischer that if you've got any more than two cartons of untaxed cigarettes, "you put yourself at risk." I especially enjoy the phrasing, though I can't say if it's all Dan Fischer or Gary Maha. Of course, you put yourself at risk if you've got a lot of smokes. But I would have assumed the risk was to your lung health, not the risk to get booked with misdemeanor tax evasion!
Sheriff's deputies reported that the "bust" over the weekend was made when a fellow was already pulled over for a traffic stop and was found in possession of 2,200 cigarettes. If my math is correct, I believe that's 11 cartons.
Maha did stress, however, that deputies are not actively out looking to nail people for buyig cigarettes from a reservation. But if you get pulled over for something else and you happen to have 11 cartons in your passenger seat, you may just be held responsible.
