Seizures of fireworks skyrocketing in N.J.
A legal loophole that allows retailers in Pennsylvania to sell pyrotechnics to Garden State residents is blamed.
New Jersey state troopers have amassed an awe-inspiring arsenal of fireworks this year: A container stuffed with almost two tons of pyrotechnics whose names include Mortars, Repeaters and Artillery Shells - enough to stage dozens of rocket-fueled Independence Day displays.
But the troopers aren't planning a Fourth of July spectacular. The cache is considered hazardous waste and will be destroyed, Maj. John Hunt of the state police said.
And the arsenal continues to grow. Troopers confiscated hundreds of pounds of fireworks last week from motorists trying to smuggle them across the state line from Pennsylvania.
For two years, New Jersey politicians have pleaded with Pennsylvania to close a legal loophole that allows Pennsylvania fireworks retailers to sell to out-of-state residents fireworks that are prohibited to Pennsylvanians.
This year, New Jersey state police are cracking down on fireworks smugglers, in some cases lurking in store parking lots and following customers in cars bearing New Jersey license plates.
In the last week, dozens of Garden Staters, New Yorkers and others have been snared by undercover patrols and charged with possessing illegal fireworks. Penalties range from a summons to fines of up to $10,000 and 18 months in jail.
New Jersey residents cannot legally possess any fireworks, even sparklers. Pennsylvania residents can have only sparklers and other low-octane novelties. Fireworks - pyrotechnics that lift off the ground - can only be possessed with special permits.
About 60 retailers have opened in Pennsylvania, using the law that allows fireworks sellers to sell to out-of-state residents.
"The majority of our customers come from New York and New Jersey," said Jeff Bell, manager of Phantom Fireworks in Easton, Pa., which opened in a new building three months ago. "But they come from all over."
This weekend, New Jersey troopers plan to intensify stakeouts of Pennsylvania fireworks dealers, following motorists across bridges and radioing troopers in marked cruisers to move in and make arrests.
Last week, a trooper in an unmarked car watched the driver of a Nissan Murano with Connecticut tags pull into Phantom Fireworks. The driver returned to his SUV with four grocery carts packed with fireworks, police said.
The driver headed south, stopped for coffee, turned north, then stopped again, doing what a state police spokesman, Sgt. Stephen Jones, called "counter-surveillance maneuvers."
Jason E. Tynes, 29, of Northford, Conn., was arrested soon after he crossed into New Jersey on I-78. Police seized 600 pounds of fireworks, worth $1,200.
In Delaware County, the pyrotechnics were stacked to the ceiling inside Spartan Fireworks, just off I-95 in Eddystone.
Some potential customers are turned away by signs posted on the white-spackled converted gas station that read "No PA residents permitted."
"That's just your weird state laws," said a dark-haired female employee who was checking customers' drivers licenses. "I didn't make them."
Standing near the exit, a teenage clerk offered advice to a Pennsylvanian: Next time, bring a friend from New Jersey.
"We'll let you in, no problem," he said. "You can buy whatever you want."
Kent Shelhamer, who oversees fireworks regulations for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, said he did not expect the Keystone State's fireworks law to change any time soon.
"This is a minor issue," Shelhamer said, adding that Pennsylvanians buy gasoline and liquor in New Jersey because of the lower taxes and different laws there.
New Jersey officials took issue with Shelhamer's argument.
"Gasoline and whiskey are legal in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey," said Hunt, of the state police. "This isn't about revenue. It's about public safety."
New Jersey politicians said they would continue to press Pennsylvania to change its laws.
"It's plain these companies are marketing to our residents, even though they know it's illegal here," said Glen Gilmore, mayor of Hamilton Township, Mercer County. "They're inviting someone to commit a crime. The real crime is, it's little kids who are going to get hurt."