Geneseo Police
Nineteen arrested with fake IDs
The Geneseo Police Department made 19 arrests on Friday, April 27, for fictitious and fraudulent drivers’ licenses being used by underage persons to gain entry into establishments selling alcoholic beverages.
The detail was assisted by Ryan Lang of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Fraud Unit. It was the fourth and probably final sting taking place for the 2011-12 college year. Other details were conducted on Sept. 16 and Feb. 17-18.
ID checks were done on April 27 at The Statesmen, Idle Hour, Vital Spot and Inn Between. Of the 19 arrests, nine were for using the valid state license of another person. The remainder of arrests were for using fraudulent licenses from an assortment of seven states.
The source of fraudulent IDs seems to be two particular websites as well as a shop in Toronto which the underage customers visit in person.
The charge of using the fictitious or fraudulent license is a violation arrest, typically resulting in a small fine in village court. Police do have the option of charging violators with a higher, class ‘A’ misdemeanor, possession of a forged instrument, but usually do not do so. Perhaps more seriously, all the fake and improperly used licenses are confiscated by the DMV, which has the right to revoke a license which someone has voluntarily given to another person to use for fraudulent purposes.
Figures compiled for all four stings during the course of the college year indicate the Inn Between, the largest establishment most popular with the college crowd, having the most arrests, 91 of 147 total. The only other establishment with a significant number of arrests was The Statesmen with 34.
The age profile of persons arrested increases towards the legal drinking age of 21. There were in total three arrests of 17-year olds, 36 arrests of 18-year-olds, 38 arrests of 19-year-olds, and 70 arrests of 20-year-olds.
Chief Osganian emphasizes that the identification checks are not meant as a strike against the establishments selling alcohol. They, as a rule, are always cooperative with police officers making the checks.
