Salem Liquor Stores Cited In MA Underage Drinking Crackdown

SALEM, MA — A statewide crackdown on underage liquor sales found liquor stores in Salem, Boston, North Andover and Worcester to be among those selling alcohol to those under 21 years old this fall.

The state Operation Safe Campus program targeted cities and towns with colleges and large populations of students and found that most students served were on average 19 years old and used false out-of-state licenses.

The Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission conducted the investigations but did not reveal the specific locations found to violate the state law prohibiting alcohol sales to minors.

"Increased enforcement saves lives and prevents tragedies before they happen," state Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg, who oversees the ABCC, said. "We want to educate and make sure that underage people are aware that drinking can have devastating consequences upon them and those they love."

The ABCC said that from Labor Day through Halloween it found 135 minors in possession or transporting alcohol, 16 adults buying alcohol for minors and about 56 students buying liquor with fake ID's at stores in Boston, Amherst, North Andover, Salem, Worcester and Westfield.

Investigators confiscated approximately 72 cases of beer and 68 bottles of alcohol.

The ABCC also conducted sting operations at bars and restaurants near college campuses and found violations at bars in Boston, Brookline, Somerville and Worcester.

Goldberg's office said it focuses on intervention and often calls a teen's parents when violations occur.

"The safety of all Massachusetts students is of the utmost importance and by implementing Operation Safe Campus we are supporting that priority and maintaining safer campuses," said Jean Lorizio, chairperson of the ABCC.

The crackdown is part of a program to prevent crimes associated with underage drinking, including date rape and alcohol-related sexual assault — which accounts for about 97,000 annual reports of those crimes among those ages 18 to 24 annually.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)