Lebanon
Last Friday, undercover operatives visited all 58 Lebanon businesses with liquor licenses and attempted to purchase alcohol.
At eight of the businesses, an employee either misread the underage person’s ID or didn’t ask for it all, said James M. Wilson, the liquor commission’s chief of enforcement and licensing.
In addition to the criminal charges against the employees, the businesses face sanctions.
“(Employees) have as much responsibility to do the right thing as (the businesses),” Wilson said. “Youth access to alcohol is a big problem in this country.”
The establishments where employees sold alcohol to minors were: Sunrise Buffett, Yama Restaurant, Peking Tokyo, Lebanon Village Pizza, Wal-Mart, Moe’s Mexican Restaurant, Fireside Inn & Suites and The Jiffy Mart at Exit 18, according to a Lebanon Police Department news release.
Each business was fined $500, Wilson said.
In addition, each employee who sold the alcohol has been cited into Lebanon District Court on a misdemeanor prohibited sales charge, an offense punishable by a fine up to $1,200.
All eight individuals are schedule to appear in court on Dec. 19.
Employees must be held accountable, Wilson said, noting workers around the state, for the most part, are doing a “very good job” at preventing the sale of alcohol to minors.
“Licensees and their employees, the vast majority of the time, are trying to do the right thing,” he said. “Mistakes happen.”
Wal-Mart spokesman Leslee Wright said that is exactly what happened on Oct. 14 at the Lebanon Wal-Mart.
“We are a responsible seller of alcohol and we take the responsibility seriously,” Wright said in a prepared statement. “However, in this situation, we made a mistake. We’re working with state authorities to ensure we’re addressing their concerns.”
Attempts to reach owners or managers of the other establishments were unsuccessful.
The results of the compliance check in Lebanon are in line with the compliance rate across the state. The liquor commission estimates that all New Hampshire businesses comply with liquor laws about 90 percent of the time.
“Based on the above sample data, businesses in the city of Lebanon have an 87 percent compliance rate,” according to the release.
Lebanon Police Chief Richard Mello, who previously worked in the Hollis (N.H.) Police Department, said he has been involved in compliance checks all over the state and he has never seen 100 percent compliance.
“Given the amount of licensed establishments that we have, it was pretty close to the state average,” Mello said, noting the reason employees sometimes drop the ball is “situational.”
For example, he said, the employee may be busy or distracted, or they lack training.
“It sets itself up to be a learning experience,” Mello said. “It is meant to draw attention to it and have people pay attention.”
The compliance checks program has been in place for decades, Wilson said. He wasn’t certain when the last time liquor commission enforcement came to Lebanon.
On Oct. 14, volunteers who were under the age of 21 went to all Lebanon businesses with liquor licenses and used their own state-issued IDs to try and purchase alcohol.
All of the undercover individuals were cleanly shaven or wearing minimal makeup to give off a youthful appearance, Wilson said.
“We make no attempt to deceive or trap somebody,” Wilson said. “It is quite the opposite.”
Wilson encouraged employers to engage their employees in ongoing training opportunities to ensure workers have up-to-date knowledge on how to best identify minors attempting to buy alcohol.
The commission offers free classroom and online education and training sessions in several aspects of alcohol sales.
The programs, however, are not mandated.
For more information or to sign up, visit www.nh.gov/liquor/enforcement/education.
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.