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Video: Thousands of N-95 Masks Seized From NY Jewelry Store

The masks are in high demand from hospitals amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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4 years ago

May 4, 2020

INSTORE Staff

Authorities seized about 20,000 N-95 masks from a jewelry store on Long Island, NBC New York reports.

On Thursday morning, members of Homeland Security Investigations and the New York Police Department loaded the masks into a van after searching Jewels by Viggi in Great Neck.

The raid was part of an investigation into possible hoarding and price-gouging of the masks, which are in high demand from hospitals amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The store was allegedly offering the masks online at five times the fair price, NBC New York reports. But there have been no arrests or criminal charges.

The news outlet reports that it has been unable to reach store owner Daniel Arbusman.

Read more at the NBC New York

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When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”