In a joint effort with the city sheriff’s office, NYPD and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, authorities raided two illegally operating Staten Island cannabis shops this week. The first, Richmond Discount & Accessories in New Springville, was found to have a secret stairway leading to an illicit basement stash, which housed hundreds of neatly organized packages of various cannabis products. Following the Wednesday raid on this location, a fine of $33,800 was imposed and the store was padlocked.
Sgt. Craig McCosker from the city Sheriff’s Office remarked that the operation is “a machine”, selling large volumes of cannabis products. The second shop targeted in this crackdown was Nitecap Megastore, which was found to be stocked with various forms of pre-rolled joints and cannabis flower, alongside weed-infused cookies. Mayor Adams attended the raid at this store, which resulted in the seizure of $19,000 worth of cannabis products and unlicensed tobacco products before it too was padlocked and fined $25,000 by the city authorities.
The store’s owner, Michael Rizzi, a retired NYPD officer, was also arrested for criminal weapon possession after several brass knuckles were discovered during the raid. This recent crackdown is part of a wider effort to combat the proliferation of approximately 3,400 unlicensed cannabis shops that have sprung up since New York legalized recreational marijuana in 2021.
Albany has recently given authorities greater power to deal with these illegal sellers, including the ability to padlock an illicit shop for up to a year immediately after inspection. Since this new authority was granted, the joint task force has managed to shut down 535 such shops, seizing $17.5 million in illegal cannabis product and imposing over $43 million in civil penalties.
The authorities’ work does not stop at the initial raids; they continue to investigate further by examining shipment paperwork or false licenses to potentially uncover connections between other illegal shops. As a result of this week’s operations, all 173 of Staten Island’s illicit smoke shops have now been inspected by the authorities, with 32 already padlocked and many others expected to follow suit.
The local community has expressed support for these enforcement actions, with retired waitress Ella Cucurillo commenting that “people are trying to make a dollar, but they have to do it legally.” However, Nitecap announced on its Instagram page that it would re-open soon despite the recent raid.
