Big NY cigarette dealer gets 10 years in prison

One of New York’s biggest cigarette dealers was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison in a case involving the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of untaxed tobacco from the state’s Indian reservations.

Rodney Morrison, 43, was originally accused in 2004 of running a violent criminal enterprise that was one of the leading sources for New York’s huge trade in black market cigarettes.

But after being acquitted of murder, robbery and arson, and having a racketeering conviction stemming from the tax case tossed out because of legal flaws, Morrison faced sentencing only on a single gun possession count. In addition to the 10-year term, Morrison was fined $75,000 and will be placed on three years supervised release when he leaves prison.

He could have been released on time served, but U.S. District Judge Denis Hurley gave him the maximum, saying “he has failed to lead any kind of law abiding life.”

Despite Morrison’s acquittal, the judge said he still believes Morrison orchestrated the crimes that were committed by others, including the 2003 shooting death of a rival cigarette dealer on a Brooklyn rooftop.

“I think he is fully capable of doing those types of things again,” the judge said. He also noted Morrison’s prior convictions for robbery, drug possession and criminally negligent homicide in the 1980s shooting of a 6-year-old.

Before being sentenced, Morrison told the judge the child’s killing was unintentional; he said he and a friend were firing a shotgun for target practice. “We were young and being foolish, it was totally a freak accident.”

He also appealed to the judge that he is a changed man. “I have learned from the experience,” he said. “I have respect for the law.”

Morrison’s lawyers said they will consider appealing the sentence. “Although we all disagree with the sentence, we have enormous respect for Judge Hurley,” lead attorney William Murphy said.

Because Morrison has been held without bail since his arrest in August 2004, that time will be applied to the 10-year sentence, officials said. Hurley also granted a defense request that the U.S. Bureau of Prisons place Morrison at a facility close to the New York metropolitan area so he can be close to his family.

Hurley, who previously described Morrison as “a cunning individual with dangerous proclivities,” vacated his racketeering conviction for trafficking contraband cigarettes on April 16. Hurley said too many elements of state laws regarding reservation tobacco sales were unsettled to prosecute someone.

Federal prosecutors appealed that ruling. Neither assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted the case commented after the sentencing.

Reservation stores sold more than 24 million cartons of cigarettes smoking in 2009, about 1 out of every 3 packs sold in the state. That booming business exists entirely because of the tribes refusal to collect taxes on the sales, allowing them to sell at a huge discount.

Morrison is a non-Indian from Brooklyn who gained control of a reservation smoke shop on the Poospatuck Indian Reservation in Mastic after marrying into the tribe. The reservation is about 60 miles east of New York City.

State law requires taxes to be paid on any packs not sold to tribe members, but New York suspended attempts to enforce that rule after it prompted unrest on the reservations in the 1990s. The tribes have fiercely resisted attempts to tax cigarettes as an attack on their sovereignty.

That lack of enforcement has left the courts conflicted about whether merchants are still obligated to collect the tax, and whether they can be prosecuted if they don’t.

Zimbabwe: Zim rakes in US$200m from tobacco exports

Harare, Zimbabwe - Tobacco merchants in Zimbabwe said Thursday the country had earned US$199.3 million from exports of the crop so far this year, and earnings were expected to rise further as the marketing season is still in progress.

The Tobacco Industry Marketing Board said a total of 65.3 million kilogrammes of tobacco had so far been exported, mainly to Asia, Middle East and Europe.

It said prices, averaging US$3.09 per kilogramme, were firmer this year than last year because of shortages on the world market after storms destroyed much of Brazil's crop.

The Latin American country is a large tobacco producer, but the storms drastically reduced its crop output this year.

The board said this improved average prices and export earnings.

Zimbabwe expects to export more than 80 million kilogrammes of tobacco this year.

Chew Tobacco: Just Spittin’ Stupid

You don’t smoke it … you don’t inhale it … there’s no secondhand smoke to offend others; it can’t be as bad as cigarettes, right? Wrong! Smokeless tobacco, also known as chewing tobacco or snus, is every bit as dangerous to your health as cigarettes - and, some might argue, equally offensive. Some of its negative effects include:

– Bad breath and stained teeth

– Mouth sores (about 70% of users get them)

– Cracked and bleeding lips and gums

– Receding gums, leading to tooth loss

– Heart problems (increased heart rate, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat)

– Cancer of the mouth, tongue, throat, and esophagus

Young male athletes are frequent users of smokeless tobacco, and are more susceptible to addiction than female users (who reportedly use it for weight control). Baseball players who use smokeless tobacco have been unfortunate role models for young athletes, and many have suffered the consequences of its use. Baseball great Babe Ruth, for example, who used chewing tobacco, died at 52 of a cancerous tumor in his throat.

Rodeos and associated community events have long been venues for smokeless tobacco promotion and use; however, Buck Tobacco, a national program working against rodeo/tobacco linkages, has had some success. It was recently announced that the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company will cease sponsoring Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) events in 2010.

Smokeless tobacco use is also much more prevalent in rural areas. In 2008, compared with a statewide average of 4.2 teens per 100, the Shasta County region had 6.8 users per 100, an increase from 3.0 statewide and 5.4 Shasta County teens since 2002, respectively. As cigarette use declines in the United States, smokeless products are the only growing segment of the tobacco industry. Manufacturers are facing the challenge of attracting (and addicting) new customers through the introduction of new smokeless and spitless products, higher levels of nicotine in their products, and enhanced marketing techniques.

Marketing of flavored snus (snuff contained in a teabag-like pouch) has been particularly effective with young tobacco users. Other enticements include flavored nicotine orbs, strips, and sticks. Although the FDA has banned flavored cigarettes, it has not yet taken action on other flavored smokeless tobacco products, which are more likely to appeal to these young users. Another concern with these new products is potential appeal to very young children as “candy” - in fact, there have been several reported instances of toddlers suffering mild poisonings from their ingestion. According to a Pediatrics Journal study, one orb, which contains approximately 1 milligram of nicotine, would be enough to sicken a small child, and several could be lethal.

Smokeless tobacco has also been promoted as a possible aid for quitting smoking, but a recent University of Florida study indicated that its use not only has little to no effect on smoking cessation, it can serve as a gateway drug that leads to smoking. Young U.S. male subjects who regularly used smokeless tobacco were three times more likely to become smokers at the end of the four-year study. The U.S. Surgeon General has concluded that smokeless tobacco use can lead to nicotine addiction, and the National Institutes of Health continues to assert that snuff is not safe due to its carcinogenic substances.

Bottom line: Do not believe the tobacco companies’ assertions about the safety of their smoke-free tobacco products. There is no safe tobacco in any form.

Musical production educates on Tobacco Wars

Community Spirit Inc. (CSI) is bringing a taste of Robertson County history to the stage in its upcoming production entitled Smoke: Ballad of the Night Riders written by Adams native, David Alford.
Alford was commissioned to write a musical play about the tobacco wars of Tennessee and Kentucky. During the early 1900’s, Red River area tobacco farmers created an association designed to force companies to pay higher prices for their crops. Actions by the association eventually had international repercussions, caused a struggle that touched every family in the "Black Patch" region, and gave birth to the infamous "Night Riders."

These masked vigilantes used intimidation, vandalism, destruction of property, and eventually violence to terrorize friends and neighbors who refused to join the movement.

At the height of the struggle, the Night Riders organized night-time demolitions of numerous tobacco warehouses across the region. This conflict was the largest episode of civil unrest between the years of the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement.

SMOKE is a historically accurate, family-friendly music production that reminds community members of their heritage, while providing the audience an opportunity to grasp and experience both the history and emotion of a serious struggle engaged in by the citizens of the Red River area.

The musical score consists of original compositions and new arrangements of traditional folk music and will be performed with live period instruments in acoustic bluegrass-style, further enhancing historical accuracy.

There will be six performances of the play in an outdoor venue on the grounds of the old Bell School in Adams. The performances will be 7 p.m. on June 3-5 and then again June 10-12. David Alford will serve as director.

CSI is dedicated to preserving and celebrating the unique history, stories, traditions, and culture of the Sulphur Fork and Red River area. Since 2002, the primary activity has been the annual production of the original play SPIRIT: The Authentic Story of the Bell Witch of Tennessee, also by Alford. This play, based on the historic, local legend, is produced outdoors each October on the grounds of the old Bell School in Adams.
Spirit has attracted growing audiences every year and last year's attendees numbered over 1,400 and included visitors from all over the United States. The productions are truly a community effort, and involve a unique mix of professional actors, community volunteers, and area college, high school and elementary age students, who are involved in every aspect of the play.

Community Spirit, Inc. (CSI) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization headquartered in the rural community of Adams in northern Robertson County, Tennessee.