V.S. fire inspector honored for breaking case

Valley Stream Chief Fire Inspector Frank Roca was honored on April 30 at the Mineola office of Acting Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas for his role last year in uncovering an illegal counterfeit products operation that used a building in Valley Stream.

Roca returned to a warehouse on Hawthorne Avenue in January 2014 for a routine follow-up regarding a March 2013 fire in the building. He noticed suspicious items, such as gas piping and open burners filled with wax. Officials from the Nassau County fire marshal’s office then searched the building and found some of the bogus products, which closely resembled products made by major international companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Procter and Gamble, and Unilever.

Counterfeit ChapStick, Vicks VapoRub and Vaseline were found in retail locations in New York, Pennsylvania and Florida. Samples were sent to the legitimate manufacturers, who verified that they were counterfeit. Subsequent searches netted $2 million in counterfeit health and beauty products

Two men were arrested and charged with felony trademark counterfeiting.

Roca received an IP Champions award, which is given by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to “celebrate individuals and agencies [that] demonstrate the importance of intellectual property to economic growth and innovation,” according to Singas’ office.