Cigarettes Kill

We have been railing against the blatant violation of law by two Long Island Indian tribes in the sale of buttlegged cigarettes. Our point has been that the butts end up being sold on the streets of the city and, therefore, hurting legitimate store owners. Dealers have also been killed fighting over territory on New York's streets. The situation has led to a lawsuit by the Gristedes supermarket chain against the tribes.

Now, however, the situation has deteriorated with the murder of a rival buttlegger upset with the loss of some of his lucrative business. All of which makes the refusal of Governor George Pataki to enforce the existing tax laws even more egregious. One wonders just what kind of impact the governor thinks his refusal to enforce duly passed laws will have on conservative Republican primary voters.

The only explanation here is that the money trail here must be extremely lucrative (Certainly the stated fear of Indian violence is just a ruse).Why else would a "conservative" governor refuse to enforce the law?