News 8
FW shopkeeper charged with selling bogus Cowboys gear 
03:16 PM CDT on Tuesday, June 30, 2009
FORT WORTH — Tarrant County constables have arrested a man and seized thousands of dollars in allegedly counterfeit Dallas Cowboys gear that they say he was selling at a mall.
The items were made to look and feel like the real thing — right down to the labels, holograms and logos.
Constables seized 82 jerseys from the MJ Sportwear store inside Ridgmar Mall. The shop is now shut down, and owner Michael Harris was arrested for counterfeiting.
"I'm not selling anything, sir," Harris told a reporter as he bonded out of jail.
Investigators contend that Harris has sold more than 500 counterfeit Cowboys jerseys in the past three years worth more than $150,000.
Harris was charging $90 each, but the jerseys are likely worth a lot less. "Probably like 25 bucks," said Constable Clint Burgess. "On many of these, the threads are coming apart. You may buy this, put it in the wash, and it would last two cycles, so — in essence — some child bought these and it hasn't lasted two weeks."
The Dallas Cowboys organization heard about the questionable jerseys and contacted police. Their licensed jerseys cost closer to $250 and are noticably better quality.
"A lot of the material in these are different standard than the Dallas Cowboys require," Burgess said. "If you look at the blue in these, it's different from some of the other manufactured colors."
Constables said they found more fake jerseys at Harris' home.
Ridgmar Mall officials had no comment on the arrest of one of their tenants.
