Task Force raids Murray Superette in food stamp trafficking scheme, untaxed cigarettes
Photo by Tom Rivers – Members of the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force raided the Murray Superette on Route 104 this morning at about 7 a.m., following a 15-month investigation.
MURRAY Three brothers that run the Murray Superette have been charged following a 15-month investigation into a food stamp trafficking scheme and the sale of untaxed cigarettes.
The three Salamaca brothers – Alexander, Myron and Olec – were all arrested this morning and are in jail on $20,000 bail, said Joe Sacco, supervising investigator for the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force.
Police executed search warrants at Murray Superette, a winery started by the family last year on Hindsburg Road and the residences of the brothers.
Sacco said the total fraud could reach into the “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
The Task Force and the county welfare fraud unit through the Department of Social Services have been investigating the Murray Superette since July 2014.
Sacco said the store owners and some employees accepted customers’ food stamps for cash at 70 percent to the customer, and then allowed customers to purchase items not authorized by the food stamp program such as cigarettes (including untaxed cigarettes), alcohol, Lottery tickets, gasoline and other items.
More information is expected soon.
