Press Release - 08-19-2015

DMV News

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, August 19, 2015

Contacts:
Joe Morrissey    [email protected] 
Casey McNulty [email protected] 

 

DMV Underage Drinking and Fake ID Enforcement Leads to 12 Arrests at Brantley Gilbert Concert
at Saratoga Performing Arts Center on August 16
 Park Police Arrest 7 for Various Crimes

 

The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles today announced that its underage drinking enforcement actions at Sunday night’s Brantley Gilbert concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) resulted in the arrest of 12 concertgoers and the seizure of 13 counterfeit licenses.  The arrests, which were carried out by DMV’s Division of Field Investigation (DFI), occurred at SPAC on Sunday, August 16. 

 

DFI checked the identity documents of concertgoers seeking to purchase alcohol on the SPAC grounds.  Anyone in possession of a fraudulent ID was arrested and their fake identity documents were confiscated.  All of the individuals arrested face administrative action that normally results in a suspension of their license for a minimum of 90 days.

 

“Our Division of Field Investigation has been hard at work this summer, deterring underage drinking and confiscating fake IDs at concerts, public beaches, and other locations across New York where young adults congregate,” said DMV Executive Deputy Commissioner Terri Egan.  “These underage drinking enforcement actions, like the one held at SPAC on Sunday night, are an extremely important facet of our mission to promote traffic safety and keep roadways safe for our families and loved ones.”

 

DFI charged 12 individuals with a violation of New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law 509, recovering 13 fraudulent driver licenses or identification cards, including four from Connecticut, three from Pennsylvania, and one from South Carolina, New Hampshire and New Jersey.  In addition, one individual was arrested for using another person’s Maine driver license, while another was arrested for using someone else’s New Jersey license.  One other fraudulent document from Ohio was turned over to DMV by State Park Police staff.

 

In addition, State Park Police charged seven individuals with a variety of crimes, including two arrests for driving while intoxicated, two for possession of alcohol by a person under 21, two for assault and one leaving the scene of a property damage accident.

 

“Park Police will continue our zero-tolerance policy for underage drinking in our state parks, including during the upcoming 5 Seconds of Summer, Chris Brown and Zac Brown Band concerts,” State Park Police Chief David Herrick said. “We are grateful for the assistance of DMV to help keep concert-goers safe and reduce the number of intoxicated drivers on the roadways.”

 

Sunday’s enforcement action was 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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