Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Ten Arrested In Chinatown Illegal Rat Poison Sting
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 20, 2011
Modified Sep 20, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 20, 2011
Modified Sep 20, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
6,000 packages of an extremely lethal chemical being sold in Manhattan's Chinatown as rat poison have been seized, and ten retailers have been arrested on state and federal charges. Authorities from the EPA, the city's DA's office, and the state's Department of Environmental Conservation confiscated vials and boxes of brodifacoum, an anticoagulant 61 times stronger than is legal, with the label "The Cat Be Unemployed." A woman who purchased them in the East Broadway Mall last year mistook it for medicine, and lost two-thirds of her blood volume!
“A lot of these products are carcinogenic, they’re neurotoxic and they have the potential to do long-term damage,” an EPA spokesman told the Times. Children are of special concern because the products are meant to smell and taste good, and are baited on the floor where they are within easy reach. The American Association of Poison Control Centers reports that 12,000 to 15,000 children under the age of 6 are exposed to the chemicals each year. "Some of the other products are so toxic that one small vial can kill an adult male," Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance said.
Two men arrested face jail time, while the others face fines of up to $5,000, and the shame of putting many decent, hardworking bodega cats out of work.
Tagged
Chinatown
cy vance
epa
manhattan da's office
poison
rat poison
rats
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man shot by ICE in NYC's Marble Hill said federal officers never identified themselves
The wounded man said he didn't learn ICE agents were involved until he woke up in the hospital.
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
Published Oct 14, 2026 at 5:26 p.m. ET
Brooklyn school dean says MTA officers assaulted him over a $3 bus fare he says he paid
Kyle Taylor, a dean at Mott Bridges Academy, says he made a legal bus transfer.
By
Carol Chen
News
Brooklyn school dean says MTA officers assaulted him over a $3 bus fare he says he paid
Kyle Taylor, a dean at Mott Bridges Academy, says he made a legal bus transfer.
By
Carol Chen
National Grid customers in NYC will see higher gas bills this winter
By
Rosemary Misdary
Bruce Blakeman joins Gov. Hochul in support for expanding NY rape law
By
Jon Campbell
2 men accused of stabbing off-duty NYPD detective in the Bronx plead not guilty
By
Charles Lane
and
Brittany Kriegstein
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .