Homepage > NHL - Pittsburgh Penguins

NHL


Related To Story

More Counterfeit Penguins Jerseys Confiscated By Feds

POSTED: 2:15 pm EDT June 2, 2008
UPDATED: 5:49 pm EDT June 4, 2008

Federal authorities in Pittsburgh say they confiscated 80 counterfeit Penguins jerseys on Wednesday.

Video: Watch Jake Ploeger's Report

Last week, more than 1,000 fake jerseys valued at more than $250,000 were confiscated.

The United States Postal Inspection Service, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the state police are warning consumers to watch out for the merchandise, which has been illegally shipped from China and intercepted in the Pittsburgh area.

More than 78 parcels with the counterfeit jerseys have been seized in the past week, the agencies say.

The latest counterfeit jerseys have the Pens' logo and fake holograms, but are cheaply made, police said.

"The coloring is not correct," said U.S. Postal inspector Andrew Richardson. "The NHL logo should not be there. The laces are the wrong color and obviously you're talking the quality of the product, too."

Investigators said people in the U.S. buy the jerseys over the Internet from China for anywhere from $35 to $50 and then sell them on sites like eBay for $150 and up. Sometimes, police said, the jerseys end up at small local retailers.

Police said the bootleggers are getting pretty elaborate, too, copying the holograms.

"To the regular eye, looks pretty good," said Richardson. "But if you were to look at this hologram and the hologram that's also on this shirt, the numbers are in fact identical, and they shouldn't be."

Other tips for identifying fake jerseys is to examine the tag for errors and check for frayed patches.

But the best way to avoid getting ripped off to buy from a licensed vendor.

"A licensed vendor is going to sell you licensed jerseys," said Richardson.

But jerseys aren't the only fakes being sold in Pittsburgh. On Saturday night, dozens of people were scammed when they purchased counterfeit tickets from scalpers and online.

Police said they arrested two suspects in the case and will be looking for more counterfeiters Wednesday night at Mellon Arena where the Penguins will take on the Detroit Red Wings in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final. The Red Wings are leading the series 3-2.

"Look at the tickets real close, because a lot of the tickets Saturday, words were misspelled, times were wrong, so take a really good look at the ticket if you're going to do it," said Cmdr. Scott Schubert of the Pittsburgh Police Department.


Related Links:
More County News
Get RSS Headlines | Free Desktop Alert

Pittsburgh Penguins

News

Penguins Headlines

After years of planning, Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux is there as the team finally takes the first step toward construction of its new arena. More
Raw Videos Inside

sidney crosby birthday sign
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby turns 21 -- and he has already accomplished so much that it's easy to forget how young he is. More
INSIDE: Talk About It

Pittsburgh's regular season starts in Sweden this year! See the full 2008-09 Penguins schedule and check out some important dates to remember. More
Season Opens In Sweden! Full Schedule Inside

Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ryan Whitney underwent surgery on his left foot Saturday and will miss at least the start of the 2008-09 season.

Scoreboard

Wed, Jun. 4FINAL
Detroit (54-28) 3
Pittsburgh (47-35) 2

About Action Sports Sunday

Action Sports Sunday set
11:30 pm on WTAE Channel 4. See who's on this week's show and submit your question! More


Sports E-News

Sign up to receive daily sports headlines.
 


Links We Like

Sponsored Content
Do you suffer from chronic pain? Our Pain Management center can offer some techniques for relief. More

Don’t wait to long to take a detailed inventory of your stuff just in case disaster strikes your home. More

With mortgage rates near historic lows, now may be a good time to refinance. Get a fixed rate as low as 6.0%. *See Terms. More

Cash back credit cards reward you for using them with cash back incentives and rebate programs. More

Like online video? Then you'll love Now See This.

Links We Like includes a selection of information, tools and resources from our partners and sponsors.

Sponsored Links