Authorities turn up heat on scalpers

Ticket resellers on the streets around Fenway Park and at a Weymouth ticket agency had a tough day yesterday.

Boston Police deployed dozens of uniformed and undercover officers around the park, arresting six individuals in a crackdown on ticket scalping. Police officials said the six arrests, two more than were made during the first five months of last season, weren't an Opening Day publicity gimmick.

"It's something we're going to tackle," said Captain William Evans , whose district oversees Fenway Park .

Meanwhile, Quincy District Court Judge Mark S. Coven denied a bid by Admit One Ticket Agency LLC of Weymouth to keep the name of one of its main ticket suppliers confidential.

Admit One, which operates online as RedSoxTix.com, is being sued by Dorchester consumer activist Colman Herman for allegedly violating the state's antiscalping law, which limits markups by resellers to $2 above face value plus certain service charges and expenses.

As part of discovery in the case, Admit One agreed to turn over the name of one of its chief ticket suppliers to Herman but said its business would be devastated if the name was revealed publicly and other companies pursued the supplier's tickets.

Coven said the name should be made public and even suggested in a footnote to his ruling that the supplier, who charged Admit One $1,300 for a pair of Red Sox-Yankees tickets with a face value of $170, appeared to be violating the antiscalping law.

"Our Legislature has recognized the disenfranchisement of the public from attendance at public events as a result of inflated ticket prices since 1924," Coven wrote in his ruling.

The attorney for Admit One could not be reached for comment yesterday.

At the corner of Brookline Avenue and Newbury Street yesterday, the scene was very different from last season. Last year, scalpers congregated at the corner, openly hawking tickets, often in plain view of police. Yesterday, the scalpers were gone, replaced by four motorcycle police officers and a police vehicle.

Captain Evans, interviewed near the corner, said the officers were there to direct traffic and deter scalpers. He said a "significant number" of officers were also operating undercover, purchasing tickets from ticket resellers and making arrests for violations of the scalping law. A Police Department spokeswoman said details on the arrests were not available.

Many people looking for tickets yesterday said scalpers were much harder to find. Some deals were being made, but few of the resellers who have become fixtures around Fenway Park the past few years were around.

"Obviously, they know we're here," Evans said. "The word's out that they're going to be arrested."

Evans said there would not be as many officers deployed at future games, but said the police presence would remain significant. Asked why the police were cracking down this season, Evans said the police department and City Hall had received a lot of complaints.

Jeff Barth of Simsbury, Conn., who was holding up two fingers looking for tickets on Brookline Avenue, said resellers were unusually scarce yesterday. He said he wasn't giving up, adding that he hadn't missed an Opening Day game in the last 12 years.

Herman, who showed up outside Fenway with a sign saying "Scalping is illegal," applauded the police for bringing the scalping problem under control, but said a one-day crackdown won't deal with the problem.

"The proof will be if there's a continued presence here," he said.

Bruce Mohl can be reached at mohl@globe.com.