You have to seriously wonder about the priorities of the US Department of Justice under Attorney General Holder. He's ignored the Wall Street problem that triggered the global recession and focused on helping the 1% in the recording industry. Now, he's going back to the well and organizing a global effort to shut down counterfeit luxury goods. How is it possible to spend so much precious bandwidth on small issues like this rather than the big issue of Wall Street? A $325 million dollar (tops) industry is a drop in the bucket compared to the trillions spent on fixing the problems created by Wall Street. This Justice Department looks a lot like what one would expect from a Republican, or even what Romney might have. CNBC:
Federal agents were in the process of arresting as many as 26 people who have been charged in the scheme to produce knock-off goods in China and sell them in the U.S., the Department said. A spokesperson told CNBC that the items mimicked by the alleged smugglers included Ugg boots, Timberland boots, Nike [NKE 108.23 -0.31 (-0.29%) ] shoes, and Burberry scarves. Other brand names impacted were Gucci, Lacoste, Coach [COH 76.9601 0.2201 (+0.29%) ], Ralph Lauren [RL 176.41 -1.50 (-0.84%) ], and Louis Vuitton. If those goods had been authentic, their total value would have been as much as $325 million, the spokesperson said. Officials called it one of the largest counterfeit goods smuggling operations ever charged.What's next? Another Wall Street insider trading case that has nothing to do with the 2008 collapse? But of course!
