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Underage Northeastern students help force changes at Fenway Target

A pair of 19-year-old Northeastern students nabbed buying two 30-packs of Natty Light and a bottle of vodka at the Boylston Street Target last month have spurred the chain to begin looking at updated scanner software for picking out fake IDs, a chain attorney and security manager told the Boston Licensing Board today.

But actually installing the software is no easy task at a large company, especially one that now has five separate security and privacy teams to review any software that deals with personal information - because of a 2013 data breach that involved 41 million people - attorney Joseph Devlin said.

Devlin said that the Dec. 8 incident, and a similar one just six days later, convinced him and regional Target managers that something was wrong with the store's systems for keeping minors from walking out with alcohol.

Two BPD detectives on an unannounced inspection around 10:35 p.m. on Dec. 8, watched as two young-looking guys approached a register, each with a 30-pack of Natural Light, one with a bottle of vodka. The cashier ran their licenses - one from Connecticut, one from Maine - and let them through.

The less trusting detectives then asked them for their IDs and proof of age, and quickly determined the licenses were fake and the men were both just 19. Both will be summoned into court to face criminal charges related to the incident, Det. Daniel MacDonald said.

Devlin said that even before the store installs new scanning software, it has taken several steps to block the under-21 crowd from alcohol sales, including requiring a second form of ID, having cashiers ask the sort of question the cops often do to try to trip them up, such as asking the ID holders for their home Zip codes and trying to hire detail cops to menacingly stand at the registers and convince the kids the risk isn't worth it, at least on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

He added that the new software could be installed in the Fenway store within 30 days, where it will be beta tested before being installed at the other Target stores in Massachusetts - none of them in student-heavy areas such as the Fenway.

The store decided against one suggestion by Boston Police - only allow sales to people with Massachusetts IDs - because the store has so many customers who are out-of-state students who are actually over 21.

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Comments

When you have Natty Light?

Seriously - does anybody over 21 even drink that piss?

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My dad's a cop, so our running joke is that whenever somebody buys or steals Natty Ice, they're definitely underage. He once busted a party where they'd built a pyramid of 30-packs of the stuff.

There's dumb, and then there's Natty Ice dumb.

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"The store decided against one suggestion by Boston Police - only allow sales to people with Massachusetts IDs - because the store has so many customers who are out-of-state students who are actually over 21."

Apply for a liquor ID:
https://www.mass.gov/how-to/apply-for-a-liquor-id-card

Some of my buddies did this so they could legally purchase booze/enter barrooms that required Mass ID in college areas.

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How does someone in town for a weekend go about getting a Liquor ID, or are they just SOL?

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Target operates in more than one state. If they are flagging bad ID, they need to do it in NY and CT and PA and other areas of the country.

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"The store decided against one suggestion by Boston Police - only allow sales to people with Massachusetts IDs"

Good. That practice is unconstitutional.

I'm not sure if a court would consider it unconstitutional if a private business decided to refuse service based on a person's state of residence. But I certainly would. And if the state government gets involved, then definitely.

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Actually this happens all the time with appliance, car, boat, camper, fireworks, guns & ammo, liquor, and smoke & cigar shops in state border regions. Local stores want nothing to do with out of state customers because of legal exposure and tax collection issues. Flies in the face of interstate commerce, but the SCotUS has yet to put their foot down about it.

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I don't think you're implying this but "happens all the time" doesn't mean it's right.

Sometimes it's just weird laws though, like there are lots of fireworks stores in PA near the NY border. But they are not allowed to sell to PA residents, so you need an out-of-state ID.

I went once (it was awesome), and they made me, with my MA license, sign a paper saying I know it's illegal to transport fireworks through the state of NY. Not sure how else I would have gotten them home but it wasn't the store's problem I guess.

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It is wrong, but like I said, until SCotUS tells states to knock off with illegally interfering with interstate commerce (that's the Fed's jurisdiction) and focus all energy on prosecuting/taxing residents for possession within their own states borders, this practice of harassment or second class citizenry will continue.

Anyone remember when Mass DoR went after Town Fair Tire in NH for selling to MA residents? It's stupid stuff like that which irks out of state retailers into not wanting to sell to certain non-residents because of the legal fees to defend against totally illegal actions by overzealous out of state governmental authorities.

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Or buy a boat.

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Underage frat brats do not have a constitutional right to buy cheap beer. Sorry, kiddo!

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"Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son."

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Is a dead give away, only poor college kids drink that crap!

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They already don't sell to out of state people. I was a card-carrying New Yorker up until last winter (and 28 years old); they sold me wine when they first opened, then a few months later wouldn't sell to me because I had an out of state ID. Naturally, I huffed and puffed and went to Shaws for my needed wine.

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Did the same to me as well.

I just left the stuff I had picked up at the register and went over to Star.

Never bothered going to Target again.

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All these stories about underage drinking really just re-affirm my perception that Boston is a college town that thinks it is something more.

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You're old if you remember these...or thought it was funny at the time. I didn't realize they still made this beer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7n9YX1Xfw4

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...I find myself concluding that the dumb kids are the ones going to college. I mean really REALLY dumb. Sheltered, naive, bad fashion choices. That's the Boston college student.

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