Liquor License Suspended for Seekonk Store
Cross Roads Convenience receives a five-day suspension for selling alcohol to a minor.
If you want to buy alcohol in Seekonk next week, don't bother going to Cross Roads Convenience, located at 822 Fall River Ave. The Board of Selectmen on Wednesday suspended the store's license for five days as punishment for selling alcohol to a minor. The suspension will begin Monday.
Last month, a police officer spotted a person under 21 leaving Cross Roads with beer. The officer asked for the person's ID, which confirmed he was not of legal drinking age. Cross Roads attorney Michael Levinson told the selectmen the employee who sold the alcohol has been fired.
Cross Roads manager Demetrios E. Haseotos accepted the punishment, which includes the removal of all alcohol from the store during the suspension. Also, employees must complete alcohol sales training.
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Board Chair Francis Cavaco told Seekonk Patch that Haseotos must show proof by Dec. 1 that the employees have taken the training. If this deadline is not met, Haseotos will have to go before the board again.
Cross Roads is the second store to receive a liquor license suspension this year. Country Liquors received a five-day suspension in April following a sting from the previous month that caught former Selectman John Whelan selling alcohol to a 15-year-old girl. The store's license was suspended another seven days in June because employees had not completed alcohol sales training within the 60-day period established by the selectmen.
Emcee of Seekonk
6:32 am on Thursday, November 15, 2012
"...punishment should be for selling alcohol to a minor?"
First offense: 5-day suspension
Second offense: a month suspension
Third offense: license revokation
Frankly, I don't think all the employee sales training is making much difference. If the police could spot a underage person leaving the store, why couldn't the sales clerk, in better light and proximity, recognize the same thing? Amazing.
Terese Bohaxiu-Dicastiglione
7:43 am on Thursday, November 15, 2012
To me it depends on the circumstances. What happens if a minor presents a valid looking but fake id and the clerk accepts it, does the store get fined if the minor gets caught? On the other hand, for stores who don't even require an id and sell to minors then I think a 5 day suspension is lenient. I recently witnessed a young woman trying to buy alcohol at a Seekionk store and she claimed to have forgotten her id at home and still wanted to buy alcohol. The clerk was hesitant but the customer was very persistent and I think the clerk didn't know how or want to handle the situation properly. She kept saying - you remember me - you've seen my id before, don't you remember me, I'm a friend of your brother, etc. I felt like I was on an episode of 'What Would You Do?'. The clerk handled my sale and the minor stayed behind as I left. I think she probably got what she wanted.