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:
- Cobble Pond- Route 82 in Stanford
- Getty- Route 44
- Stewarts in the Village of Millbrook
- Verbank Deli - Route 82 in Union Vale
- Sunoco - Route 55 and Beekman Road
- Shell- Route 55 and Route 216
- Mobil- Route 55 at the Taconic State Parkway
- Mobil- Route 55 and Freedom Road
- Exxon- Route 55 and Titusville Road
- Shell- intersection of Noxon and Titusville Roads
- Mobil- intersection of Noxon and Titusville Roads
- Shell- Route 44 by Degarmo Road
- Exxon- State Route 44 and Rochdale Road
- Stewarts- Route 44, in the Town of Poughkeepsie
- Mobil- Route 44 and Timothy Heights
- Getty- Route 44, west of West Rd in Pleasant Valley
- Mystic- Route 44 at Traver Road
- Mobil- Route 44 west of Rossway Road