Boston Acts Against Underage Drinking

In one of the largest local sting operations to date, the Boston Police Department (BPD) arrested 32 people last Friday for attempting to buy alcohol illegally.

Those arrested include students "from just about every [local] college except Harvard," said BPD Captain Charles J. Cellucci. Thirteen of the students arrested refused to say which school they attended.

As part of "Operation Cops in Shops," BPD officers and investigators from the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) posed as store vendors and casual observers at five shops and clubs in the Fenway area of Boston, catching the students as they were trying to purchase alcohol. Jillian's, Huntington Wine and Spirits, Costello's Liquor Store, Choice Mart and Avalon participated in the sting.

BPD Lieutenant Thomas W. Nolan said the sting was in response to recent complaints about student vandalism and public urination by residents of East Fenway.

"We are responsible to the community," Nolan said. "We want to convey to the community that some action is being done to protect the residents."

"Operation Cops in Shops" is a statewide joint effort between the ABCC and local police. Although Friday's sting operation took place in Boston, Cellucci said such an operation could happen anywhere in Massachusetts.

In fall 1997, several Harvard first-years were arrested during a similar sting operation in Cambridge.

On Tuesday, arrested students were arraigned in court. Though the charges varied, they were mostly misdemeanors--including violation of alcohol statutes, possession of counterfeit identification and buying alcohol for a minor, according to Cellucci.

According to the BPD Office of Media Relations, a misdemeanor conviction can bring up to two-and-a-half years in prison, but most of those arrested will probably just have their driver's licenses suspended.

Roni F. Yasmine, the owner of Choice Mart, said he sees "Operation Cops in Shops" as a shift in the enforcement of the drinking age. While in the past, police have generally penalized vendors for selling alcohol to minors, he said they are now holding the minors more accountable for attempting to purchase.

"[The program] really takes the burden off our backs," Yasmine said.