POTSDAM – A prank at a competing store meant to tease a former coworker has led to criminal tampering charges for two Potsdam men, according to village police.

Police said Joshua M. Victor, 30, and Alexander Rosse, 25, allegedly placed about a dozen placards reading "temporarily out of stock" on shelves throughout the Potsdam IGA on Nov. 7, not to send business to their own employer, a competing store, but to play a joke on a former coworker who now works at the IGA.

Sadly for them, IGA management didn't get the joke. According to village police, store owners were concerned for the safety of their customers--whether the tampering went beyond just the signs--and so they chose to pursue charges.

Victor and Rosse have been charged with third-degree criminal tampering, a class B misdemeanor. They will answer the charge in village court on Nov. 30.

In addition, both men were given unpaid suspensions from their jobs and face a disciplinary hearing on their future employment.

Village police would not release the name of the other business, stating neither IGA nor the competing supermarket wanted it released for fear it would lead to more serious consequences for the two men.