- Andrew Napolitano
Lawrence Bar to Face Hearing
Andrew Napolitano
Deputy Communications Director
(617) 367-9333 x614
Cell: (781) 403-0600
On Thursday February 13th at approximately 11:00 PM, Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) Investigators found 43 minors in possession of fake identification and or alcohol at the Claddagh Pub in Lawrence. Investigators found the bar to be crowded when they arrived and observed that it emptied out as they began to request that young looking people provide proof of legal drinking age. Most were approximately 19 years of age. The bar will be summoned for a hearing before the Commission; if found to have violated the law, the bar’s liquor license could be subject to suspension, modification or revocation.
The effort was part of the ABCC’s Operation Safe Campus program, which includes liquor law enforcement at college area bars and liquor stores to prevent underage drinking. Statistics show that three teens die from drinking and driving every day, and approximately six teens die every day of non-driving alcohol-related causes, such as homicide, suicide, and drowning. Annually, 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 report experiencing alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape. Alcohol intoxication has also been reported to be involved in 47% of homicides and 23% of suicides involving people under 21. In Massachusetts alone, the overall cost of alcohol abuse by youth is estimated at $1.4 billion.
“Bars and restaurants have an obligation to responsibly serve their patrons,” said State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, “We will continue to step up our monitoring and enforcement actions because we know that this can save lives and prevent tragedies before they happen.”
In 2019, the ABCC Enforcement Division conducted operations in approximately 200 municipalities throughout the commonwealth, filing approximately 190 reports detailing approximately 320 violations of the Liquor Control Act that included the sale of alcohol to underage or intoxicated individuals, illegal gambling, illegal alcoholic beverages, unlawful ownership and unlawful trade practices. In addition, seasonal enforcement programs found approximately 1200 minors in possession or transporting alcoholic beverages; 125 adults procuring alcohol for minors; 230 individuals in possession of false identification; with 350 cases of beer and 230 bottles of alcohol confiscated by Investigators, preventing delivery to approximately 3600 underage individuals.
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