By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – One of the Seneca Nation of Indian's largest cigarette suppliers has stopped shipments to reservation smoke shops.
The stoppage of shipments is the result of confusion over whether they're legal, under a new state law. The law, which took effect March 1st, stops wholesalers from selling untaxed, unstamped cigarettes to Native American retailers.
Milhelm Attea and Brothers voluntarily suspended its daily shipments until lawyers can clear up the matter. Now the Senecas are looking for other ways to stock their shelves.
Tax officials last month indicated they would not immediately enforce the law, but Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's office warned violators may be subject to criminal action. Other suppliers are now stopping shipments as well.
Seneca retailers sold $347 million dollars worth of tobacco products in 2003.
Thursday night, some Seneca retailers on the Tuscarora reservation were stockpiling old tires and wooden pallets for possible protests, similar to ones held in the mid-1990s when traffic on the State Thruway was brought to a halt.