You wait years for a shiny new NFL stadium, pack the joint for the opener, and some folks still try to sell you a $20 Josh Allen jersey that'll fall apart in the wash.
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Orchard Park police, working with the league and the Bills, ran "Operation Bootleg Blitz" around Highmark Stadium's debut Thursday night and nabbed four people accused of slinging counterfeit merch outside the gates.
Cops seized 135 fake jerseys, 32 T-shirts, 30 knockoff hats, 23 sweatshirts, 21 more hats and four counterfeit bags. That's a lot of cheap Bills gear that never saw an official license.
Charged were Harlin Oneal, 61, of Buffalo, and Thomas E. Dozier, 62, of Cleveland, each with a misdemeanor count of trademark counterfeiting plus peddling without a permit. Quanita Roland, 44, and Nicholas Fullenweider, 53, both of Buffalo, each face a felony trademark counterfeiting charge plus the same permit violation.
All four were processed and released with appearance tickets. They're due in Orchard Park Town Court Tuesday.
This is the same old stadium-lot hustle: unofficial sellers, unofficial quality, unofficial legal trouble. The league and the team have zero interest in letting cheap knockoffs siphon money from the real stuff fans actually want to wear. Police called it a covert operation targeting unpermitted sales of trademarked logos. Looks like it worked.
Buy the real thing. Or at least don't get caught with a trunk full of fakes on opening night.
