McCracken's Upgrades ID Check Equipment In Wake of Violation

It will likely be more difficult for minors to buy alcohol at McCracken's Liquors & Wines.

The store was cited for a liquor violation after an 18-year-old reportedly bought a bottle of vodka there in May using a fake ID.

Manager Andrew Buco appeared before the Board of Selectmen this week to answer for that incident. It seems the minor in question used a fake New York license, and the scanner the store had registered it with a confusing message and the liquor was sold to him.

So Buco purchased a new $4,000 scanner in hopes of preventing future incidents of fake ID usage in his store.

Selectmen voted unanimously to take no action (meaning the store was not penalized) after Buco swore he would use the new scanner strictly. The store has not had a violation in the past 10 years. Also, North Andover Police Detective Daniel Cronin spoke in Buco's favor, saying Buco has been very cooperative.

So cooperative, Cronin said, that the police have been able to get many fake IDs from minors with Buco's help.

"Since we bought it in the last month we've got three investigations going on, we got 20 IDs off the street," Buco said. "A customer, a good friend of mine, her son was one of the IDs and she came in and thanked me."

Buco promised to carefully monitor IDs used in his store and help get more fake ones out of the hands of minors.

"I don't want to sell liquor to kids," Buco said. "It doesn't do me any good. I know they're probably going to get it somehow, but not in my store."

Interestingly, the fake ID in question, like many sold these days, came from a Web site operated in the Ukraine, selling high-quality (convincingly deceptive) fake IDs manufactured in China.

"It's a billion dollar industry," Buco said.