AG sues online liquor retailers
Stores allegedly sold to minors
A few clicks of a mouse scored five Boston minors a lot of liquor.
By entering a credit card number on a liquor store's website, they purchased alcohol in 2002 and 2004, as part of a sting orchestrated by Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly's office. The results: more than 50 bottles of wine and hard liquor and several six-packs of beer.
The state took legal action against seven online liquor retailers this week, saying they violated the Massachusetts Liquor Control Act. Reilly's office sued four stores for not having a license to sell alcohol in the state, in addition to selling to the minors, he announced at a news conference early yesterday at his office in downtown Boston.
"We all have a responsibility when it comes to protecting our children," Reilly said, listing alcohol sellers, parents, and schools as keys to stopping underage drinking.
"I've seen lives ruined. I've seen lives lost," Reilly said. "It's not just the child, but the family. That's why the sale of alcohol is regulated; the laws are designed to protect the children."
The four companies being sued are Sherry-Lehmann Wines and Spirits of New York , Wine Globe of San Mateo, Calif., Queen Anne Wine & Spirit Emporium of Teaneck, N.J., and Clubs of America of Lakemoor, Ill. A court hearing to bar the companies from doing business in Massachusetts is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday in Suffolk Superior Court.
Three other retailers, which have licenses, were referred to the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission for administrative hearings that could result in fines and license suspension. Geerlings & Wade of Canton, Wine.com of San Francisco , and The Wine Messenger of New Rochelle, N.Y. will take part in those hearings June 29.
The attorney general's office said each of the liquor stores sold booze to the students twice. One retailer named in the lawsuit said his company has done everything it can to prevent the sale of alcohol to minors.
"I'm not here to break any laws. I'm not here to sell to minors," said Kevin Roche, who owns the New Jersey fine wine store Queen Anne Wine & Spirit Emporium.
Roche said he wasn't aware of any instances when his 20-year-old, family-run company has sold to minors, and received a letter about the attorney general's lawsuit in the mail yesterday.
His company's website states purchasers must be 21 or older. It also expects that the shippers -- it uses
"UPS has the person delivering the package asking about age," he said. "You don't really have a choice but to believe that they're doing that. There's no other method we can use except that."
The shipping companies that delivered the alcohol also will have to attend the ABCC hearings, Reilly said.
Although UPS, Federal Express, and DHL can legally ship alcohol, they also are being accused of violating state liquor laws for not checking identification upon delivery.
Representatives from UPS and Federal Express said the companies will conduct their own investigation and will cooperate fully with the ABCC. Calls to DHL from the Globe were not returned.
Katie Nelson can be reached at knelson@globe.com.
