Vendors increase scrutiny of IDs
By Griffin Gordon | October 18, 2002Following the arrest of two Dartmouth students for the mass production of fake identification, area vendors are being warned to check IDs from California, Florida and New Mexico and may be clamping down on those seeking to buy alcohol underage. Police allege that Tom Allason '02 and David Seidman '04 produced over 100 fake drivers' licenses prior to their arrests in early September. Although mostly not new additions, the ominous warnings like "Don't try it if you're under 21" and "If you're under 30, expect to be proofed" that decorate the windows of Hanover's gas stations, grocery stores and restaurants may have taken on new meaning since the arrests. "We don't mess around," said Nigel Leeming, the owner of Mojo's Bistro and Murphy's on the Green. Establishments in Hanover use a variety of methods to detect fake IDs, ranging from the use of scanners to manual examinations, but each takes the use of false identification seriously. Stores that are caught for selling alcohol to minors face a minimum $1,000 fine on the first offense, which is reason enough to be careful, Leeming said. Many shops that sell alcohol in Hanover have books with complete listings of all state manufactured IDs in existence.