Press Release - 07-09-2015

NYS DMV Press Release

 

 

Contact:
Joe Morrissey
[email protected]
Chet Lasell
[email protected]


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Office of Communications
6 Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY  12228

 

July 9, 2015

 

DMV Underage Drinking and Fake ID Enforcement Leads to 20 Arrests at Concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center

New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Deputy Commissioner Thomas Higgins today announced that DMV underage drinking enforcement actions at the recent Dave Matthews Band concert resulted in the arrest of 20 concertgoers and the seizure of 28 counterfeit licenses. The arrests occurred at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) in Saratoga County on Friday, July 3rd.

“Summer concerts at SPAC are a huge draw for thousands of young people, and it is our goal to keep those in the State Park safe by reducing underage drinking and impaired driving,” said Deputy Commissioner Higgins. “Our ID checkpoints and efforts by our law enforcement partners are particularly important during graduation season and the summer months when underage drinking tends to spike. Our investigators will continue to conduct these checkpoints at SPAC and other venues so that we can reduce underage drinking and impaired driving and, in turn, save lives.”

On Friday, July 3rd, DMV’s Division of Field Investigations (DFI) checked concertgoers entering SPAC grounds for possession of alcohol, as well as individuals who attempted to purchase alcohol on the premises with the use of fraudulent identification.

DFI charged 20 individuals with a violation of New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law 509. DFI recovered 28 fraudulent driver licenses or identification cards supposedly issued from 11 different states including eight from Connecticut, five from Pennsylvania, three from South Carolina, two from New Jersey, Rhode Island, Oregon, and Ohio, and one from Maryland, Florida, Illinois, and New York. All of the individuals arrested face administrative action that normally results in a revocation of their license for a minimum of 90 days.

These enforcement actions were supported by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee to deter minors from abusing alcohol and driving while impaired. The legal drinking age in New York State is 21.

Most of the individuals arrested for fraudulent driver licenses or identification cards purchased these documents over the internet from foreign companies. For more than a decade, DMV and its partners in federal and state law enforcement agencies have worked to crack down on counterfeiters by identifying the source and working to shut down their operations.

For more information about the Department of Motor Vehicles, please visit: www.dmv.ny.gov.

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