200 fake Pro Bowl
shirts seized

Four people are held on
trademark offenses in what
the NFL calls a persistent problem

Undercover Honolulu police officers seized about 200 counterfeit Pro Bowl shirts during the National Football League's all-star game on Sunday.

Glenn Marziotto: He is among four arrested who police say had gotten earlier warnings

Police said they spotted 14 people selling the counterfeit Pro Bowl shirts for about $10 apiece in Aloha Stadium's parking lot. Four of the sellers were arrested for suspicion of trademark counterfeiting.

Glenn Marziotto, 47, and Brendan Schiff, 36, were charged with trademark counterfeiting, with bail set at $15,000 each. Four others were warned and had their fake goods confiscated. Four were observed with fake goods, but there was not enough evidence to build a case against them, and at least two vendors ran away, police said.

"They just drop it and run," said HPD detective Michael Rodriguez. "It's kind of getting out of hand."

There were five undercover police detectives working the sold-out game, which was attended by an estimated 49,000 fans. NFL merchandising attorney Paula Guibault said the league also hired private investigators from Goodenow and Associates Inc. to canvass the area.

"We're serious about counterfeiting," Guibault said.

During the NFL's 2004 regular season, about $3.4 million in fake merchandise was confiscated by various law enforcement agencies across the country, she said. The fake Pro-Bowl T-shirts confiscated on Sunday were being sold for about $10. NFL-licensed gear usually sells for $15 to $20.

Brendan Schiff: He is charged with counterfeiting relating to souvenir shirts at the stadium

"If it looks too good to be true, it probably is," Guibault said.

When asked why some vendors were allowed to surrender their goods instead of being arrested, Guibault said some suspects in past years have claimed not to know that selling counterfeit merchandise was a crime in Hawaii. She said the four arrested this year were all warned in previous events, either by HPD or the NFL's private investigators.

"We run into the same people," she said. "A bulk of the counterfeiting comes from the mainland."

While illegal Pro Bowl merchandise vendors have been caught in Waikiki, Aloha Stadium and Kam swap meets in past years, the activity was concentrated solely at the Pro Bowl this year, officials said.

Guibault warned consumers to always look for the NFL hologram logo or the Pro Bowl hologram. She said many of the unauthorized shirts were substandard, made from materials and colors that might not survive a single washing.

On some of the fake shirts, mistakes could also be spotted by the wary sports fan. Instead of "NFC Versus AFC" (National Football Conference vs. American Football Conference), some shirts had the letters "NFL" and "AHE". Other mistakes could be found on team rosters printed on the shirts, such as listing Buffalo Bills linebacker Takeo Spikes as an offensive lineman.

"Our goal was to get merchandise off the streets," Guibault said.