Keep your eyes open folks. If you walk in a store and notice people acting really suspect in the aisle with all the baby formula, it’s probably because they’re about to case the joint: for said baby formula–not money. And that’s exactly what a couple from New Jersey did at a Target store, filling a cart up with almost a whole row of baby formula (big boxes and small containers) and trying to smoothly walk out of the store with the cart without paying. But when a worker saw the man trying to leave the store with the cart, he tried to stop him. In turn, the crazy man gave him a broken finger, a sprained arm and contusions. Surveillance caught the couple on camera–the woman packing the cart with the products, and the man beating the security guard.

While this all might sound crazy and like the case of a young couple who couldn’t afford formula for their children, it’s not. This couple is said to be part of a large group of people who are stealing formula and selling it for a lower price on Craigslist and on the streets. Many people seem to be in the market for formula, so the resale of it seems to be bringing in a lot of money. However, many are worried that people re-selling formula could be ignoring expiration dates and contaminating the products.  The New York NBC affiliate says that baby formula has been a staple for thieves for years now, and that it’s so popular, some stores are locking away their formula, and federal laws have been imposed to try and prevent it from happening. So, if you’re in the market for some baby formula, as with anything that has to do with children–stay away from Craigslist.

Check out video of the man trying to steal the cart of formula and his slick lady below, courtesy of http://nbcnewyork.com:

View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.

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(Wall Street Journal) — Monawara Sultana says her rent is going up: $14,000 for a two-year permit to run a food cart where she sells $1 hot dogs outside of Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.  And it’s not the city levying the increase or recouping the money. It’s the permit holder, who is asking for double what she previously paid, according to Ms. Sultana. “It’s not fair,” said the Bangladeshi immigrant and mother of three. “Why did it go up so much?”

The city’s competitive street food culture has created a thriving black market for mobile food vending permits issued by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The city charges a mere $200 for most food-cart permits, which must be paid every two years when they are renewed. But it only issues 3,100 year-round permits plus an additional 1,000 seasonal permits—not enough to satisfy demand. Transferring or renting these permits to another vendor is illegal but everyone, including the city’s Health Department, acknowledges, that it happens.  Two years ago, the city’s Department of Investigation did an undercover probe of improper permit transfers, which led to six arrests. The department recommended, among other things, that the Health Department move to a competitive sealed-bidding process to help “eliminate the criminal conduct found in the investigation.”

Elliott Marcus, an associate health commissioner, said the black market was a source of “big concern.” Still, in a statement, the Department of Health noted: “While the Health Department suspects that in some instances permits are being transferred illegally, it is extremely difficult to prove an illegal sale in a particular case because the law does allow a permit holder to employ other licensed vendors to work his or her cart.” To help remedy that, the department will soon propose changes requiring that permit holders appear when renewing permits and carts are re-inspected every two years.

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(Chicago Sun Times) — Eight months after taking over Chicago’s legendary Maxwell Street Market, the Daley administration has more than it bargained for: a federal lawsuit accusing the city of allowing bargain “counterfeit” handbags to be sold there.

Coach Inc., a manufacturer of luxury leather products, is accusing City Hall of looking the other way while hundreds of Maxwell Street vendors sell knock-offs of Coach purses for as little as $18.

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