Four arrested in New York with 95,000 King Mountain cigarettes
- By Review Staff
- Published 09/18/2008
- Local
- Unrated
Four individuals identified as Washington residents were arrested in Whitestown, New York, last week and arraigned on charges of tax violations, after they were found to be in possession of 95,000 unpackaged King Mountain cigarettes, according to a television report broadcast On WKTV in Whitestown.
Whitestown Police Chief Donald Wolanin told the Review Independent in a telephone interview Sept. 10, that the four were arrested by a special unit of the New York State Police which handled tax code violations.
Oneida County Assistant District Attorney Kara Wilson confirmed that Jason Tadaniag, Kanim James, Harry Castelanelli, and Randolph Burch were arrested and arraigned and were being held in the Oneida County jail on $40,000 bail each.
Wolanin said the four men were arrested near a regional Homeland Security Training Center, and personnel in the center “saw all the cigarettes” and reported the men to state police.
King Mountain Tobacco operates a cigarette manufacturing facility on the Yakama Nation reservation, but the company did not return calls from the newspaper.
Washington Department of Revenue Deputy Director Leslie Cushman said her department is following the New York case.
In an email message to the newspaper, Cushman said cigarette regulation is a multi-state issue, and covered by state, federal, and tribal law.
Cushman said she was contacted by Wilson and directed her attention to the right to travel included in the Yakama Nation Treaty of 1855, and to the recent Smiskin ruling.
Cushman said she is not familiar with the particular laws applicable to cigarette regulation in New York state or in Oneida County.
Whitestown Police Chief Donald Wolanin told the Review Independent in a telephone interview Sept. 10, that the four were arrested by a special unit of the New York State Police which handled tax code violations.
Oneida County Assistant District Attorney Kara Wilson confirmed that Jason Tadaniag, Kanim James, Harry Castelanelli, and Randolph Burch were arrested and arraigned and were being held in the Oneida County jail on $40,000 bail each.
Wolanin said the four men were arrested near a regional Homeland Security Training Center, and personnel in the center “saw all the cigarettes” and reported the men to state police.
King Mountain Tobacco operates a cigarette manufacturing facility on the Yakama Nation reservation, but the company did not return calls from the newspaper.
Washington Department of Revenue Deputy Director Leslie Cushman said her department is following the New York case.
In an email message to the newspaper, Cushman said cigarette regulation is a multi-state issue, and covered by state, federal, and tribal law.
Cushman said she was contacted by Wilson and directed her attention to the right to travel included in the Yakama Nation Treaty of 1855, and to the recent Smiskin ruling.
Cushman said she is not familiar with the particular laws applicable to cigarette regulation in New York state or in Oneida County.