Nine Madison County store clerks cited for selling alcohol to minors

Nine Madison County store clerks cited for selling alcohol to minors

27 stores checked

by Adam Feldfogel (NCC News)

Nov. 4, 2010, 4:00 p.m.

WAMPSVILLE, N.Y. - Nine store clerks in Madison County have been cited for selling alcohol to minors, according to The Post Standard. The Madison County Sheriff's Dept. did a sweep of 27 stores with liquor licenses, making sure IDs were checked when alcohol was being purchased.

The captain of the Madison County Sheriff's Dept., Matthew Episcopo, explained the process of choosing the locations to check. "We selected the southern half of Madison County which we went out and checked under a grant from Bridges," Episcopo said. "They gave us a sum of money that is a grant specifically targeting underage drinking issues."

Store clerks could face severe penalties

Deputies sent a minor into each of the 27 stores to see if they could purchase alcohol, and see if the store clerks would ask to see an ID, authorities say. Clerks that did not ask for identification, and sold the alcohol to the underage person were charged with a misdemeanor of unlawfully dealing with a child.

Episcopo says that the clerks are not the only ones who may suffer a consequence for seeling the alcohol to a minor; the business as a whole may pay a price. "We make a referral to the New York State Liquor Authority and they take a look at their liquor license and see if there's been any other referrals made against that business," Episcopo said. "And they could fine them civilly or suspend their license, or revoke it if they felt it was necessary."

Each of the nine clerks was issued an appearence ticket. They will have to go to court and face criminal charges.