Department of Motor Vehicles Seizes 22 Counterfeit
Driver Licenses from Underage Concertgoers
Driver Licenses from Underage Concertgoers
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV) Deputy Commissioner Thomas Higgins today announced that DMV’s
underage drinking enforcement action at the Kenny Chesney concert on
Wednesday, July 8, at CMAC in Canandaigua resulted in the arrest of 21
concertgoers and the seizure of 22 counterfeit licenses.
DMV’s Division of Field Investigation (DFI) and the
Ontario County Sheriff’s Office conducted the action, which supports
the efforts of the New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee
(GTSC) to deter minors from abusing alcohol and driving while
impaired.
The legal drinking age in New York State is 21.
“Drinking and driving is a deadly combination,
particularly for young and inexperienced motorists, so DMV will continue
to conduct these enforcement actions to deter underage drinking and
keep drunk drivers off the road,” said Deputy Commissioner Higgins. “I
commend DMV’s investigators and our law enforcement partners for their
dedication to protecting the lives of our young people and making our
highways safe for everyone.”
“These ID checks are an effective way to deter
alcohol consumption by underage concertgoers,” said Ontario County
Sheriff Philip C. Povero. “This was a big concert for us, a sold out
crowd of 15,000 plus, and we appreciate DMV’s help in this effort. The
enforcement action made a real difference.”
On Wednesday
night, DMV investigators who are familiar with documents both in-state
and out-of-state were stationed at the ID checkpoint set-up by CMAC to
confirm the age of all patrons wishing to buy alcohol at the event.
Using their training, investigators authenticated identification
documents and identified fake ID’s at this event.
Among the 22 counterfeit licenses confiscated Wednesday,
six were from Pennsylvania, six from New Jersey, five from Connecticut,
two from Ohio and one each from Maryland, Florida and South Carolina.
All those arrested were charged with a criminal
violation of Section 509.6 of the NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law and are
subject to administrative action that normally results in a revocation
of their license privilege for a minimum of 90 days and up to one year.
The majority of counterfeit licenses recovered by
DMV’s Division of Field Investigation are purchased over the internet
from foreign companies. DMV, in cooperation with federal and state law
enforcement agencies, seeks to crack down on these counterfeiters by
identifying the source and working to shut down their operations and has
been doing so for more than a decade.
Source: Department of Motor Vehicles
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