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Port Newark
Michael “Mike Nova” Hanna, 29, also known as George Flores, admitted in March that he paid the bribe to what turned out to be an undercover agent so that he and others could import counterfeit handbags, pocketbooks, sneakers and other imitations of goods by Coach, Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Nike.
The cash payments were to ensure that “at least 15 of the shipping containers holding the counterfeit merchandise were not seized or detained at port,” U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said. Hanna met with the undercover investigator at diners in Hoboken and Elizabeth and at New Jersey Turnpike rest stops — in one instance concealing $20,000 in a Remy Martin cognac gift box.
He later admitted in court that he thought the agent was really a bag man for a Customs official.
An interesting question remains: Federal authorities have yet to disclose whether Hanna actually made a contact who was then caught by investigators or immediately became a target once an attempt at contact was made.
Fueling speculation is the fact that Hanna was scheduled to be sentenced in June; sentencings are often postponed in federal courts when a convict has valuable information that could help lead to other prosecutions.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler sentenced Hanna on Thursday to three years of supervised release.
Fishman credited special agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Professional Responsibility. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B. Kosto of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Group handled the case. Hanna was represented by criminal defense attorney Brian Neary of Hackensack.
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