Monroeville Man Sentenced to Prison for Selling Counterfeit Nike Shoes

PITTSBURGH—A resident of Monroeville, Pa., has been sentenced in federal court to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release on his conviction of trademark counterfeiting, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

Senior United States District Judge Gustave Diamond imposed the sentence on Bertram Tarpley, 48.

According to information presented to the court, on May8, 2008, Monroeville Police Officer Ronald Croll responded to a call behind the Burlington Coat Factory store, where he found Tarpley taking delivery of several boxes from a UPS delivery truck. Tarpley agreed to open the boxes for Officer Croll, at which time Officer Croll discovered approximately 80 pairs of counterfeited Nike shoes. When Officer Croll searched Tarpley’s 2003 GMC Yukon, he found approximately 64 more pairs of counterfeited shoes. Subsequent investigation by the FBI and the Monroeville Police Department revealed that, between January of 2007, and May of 2008, Tarpley had paid approximately $123,678.40 for counterfeit Nike shoes from a supplier in New York City. Tarpley sold those shoes in Wilkinsburg and other neighborhoods in Pittsburgh.

Assistant United States Attorney Shaun E. Sweeney prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Monroeville Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Tarpley.