A British con artist who admitted to selling counterfeit bottles of booze containing human feces and urine was dubbed “a danger to public health” by magistrates. UPI report:
The court heard Nicholas Stewart, 35, of Blackpool, England, was caught selling sealed bottles labeled as brand-name Smirnoff and Jack Daniels liquor inside the Coral Island slot machine complex on the Blackpool Promenade.
Blackpool Council prosecutor Victoria Cartmell said security officers seized the bottles and sent two of them, one labeled as whiskey and the other as vodka, to a lab for analysis.
“They were purported to contain whiskey and vodka. But they were water laced with urine and feces probably to give the so called whiskey color,” Cartmell told magistrates. “They were totally unsuitable for public consumption — they were hazardous and contained dangerous E. coli bacteria. This man is has been involved in 32 incidents and is a persistent and troublesome offender.”
Cartmell said authorities are seeking a Criminal Anti-Social Behaviour Order to bar Stewart “from selling anything in Blackpool.”
Martin Hillson, Stewart’s defense attorney, said he will fight the CRASBO because it would prevent Stewart from making a living selling The Big Issue magazine.
“It is a blanket ban in a set geographical area,” he said.