Police: 3 Busted For Selling Alcohol to Minors in Dutchess County

Correction: This article originally stated three Dutchess County employees were charged. In fact, three employees in Dutchess County were arrested. The Hudson Valley Post regrets the error.

Three employees in Dutchess County, including one teenager, are accused of selling alcohol to minors.

On Monday, New York State Police conducted an underage drinking enforcement operation in Dutchess County. An underage volunteer purchased alcohol at 21 stores across the county. The underage volunteer was monitored by plainclothes investigators and supported by uniformed troopers, police say.

The following three clerks allegedly sold an alcoholic beverage to the underage volunteer and were arrested:

Suresh Patel, 64, employed at Cheers Liquor Store on Route 55, in the Town of Beekman
Muhammad Tufail, 49, employed at the Gulf Gas Station on State Route 55 in the Town of LaGrange
Shane E. Vespa-Jewett, 19, employed by the Shell Gas Station located on Route 44 in Pleasant Valley

All three were charged with unlawfully dealing with a child, a misdemeanor. All three were issued appearance tickets to appear in local courts at a later date and released. In addition, their employers face possible civil penalties imposed by the State Liquor Authority, officials say.

The following Eighteen store clerks refused to complete the sale of alcohol to the volunteer: