Police file charges against business employees serving minors

Nantucket Police Chief William Pittman has notified the selectmen that his department has filed charges in Nantucket District Court against employees of several local establishments who served liquor to underage, undercover agents during a compliance check this summer. Ninety licensed establishments were visited for the routine sting, and while in 88 percent of the cases liquor sales to the agents were denied without proof of legal drinking age, 13 individual businesses were found in violation of the law.

Repeat offenders who also failed during one of two checks last year are Alice's Restaurant, AK Diamond's, Nantucket Lobster Trap and The Brotherhood.

Pittman explained that, on average, two stings are conducted each year. In addition, nightly walk-in visits at the establishments are performed by uniformed officers to ensure liquor license holders are abiding by the law and to serve as a deterrent to minors who might want to try using false identification to obtain alcohol.

Det. Lt. Jerry Adams has already filed charges against the servers or salespeople who sold to the young agents, rather than against the actual businesses. The original charge fell under the state's public safety and good order chapter for "sale, delivery or furnishing alcoholic beverages to persons under 21." The penalty under that law is not more than one year in the House of Correction or not more than a $2,000 fine. The charge was reduced to a civil infraction carrying a fine of $300 per violator. The maximum fine cannot exceed $5,000.

The complete list includes Alice's Restaurant, AK Diamond's, Centre Street Bistro, Cisco Brewers, Harpoon Liquors, El Rincon Salvadoreno, Nantucket Lobster Trap, Nantucket Vineyard, The Brotherhood of Thieves, The Chicken Box, Westmoor Club, Old South Liquors and the Rotary Restaurant.

Adams said that, as far as he knows, only Alice's, El Rincon, Cisco Brewers and the Lobster Trap are still in the process of resolving their cases.

In Pittman's letter to the selectmen he said he was not seeking a hearing on the license status of the establishment owners, and instead chose to leave the decision on further action to the board.

Selectmen chair Michael Kopko said the selectmen have broad discretion on what action to take, but that town manager Libby Gibson indicated that the administration does not recommend additional sanctions beyond the court process initiated by police. A review of the compliance checks is on tonight's selectmen's agenda under reports and comments. I