Dymes receives 60-day suspension for violations

LYNN – Dymes Redemption Center was ordered to serve a 60-day suspension beginning Jan. 7, 2008 on charges of selling alcohol to two separate minors in November.Licensing Board Commissioner Dick Coppinger said the store was issued its third and fourth offense, one during a routine sting operation by the police, and the second for selling vodka to an underage 19-year-old girl from Marblehead.”They will be serving a 30-day suspension for the third offense of serving minors, and a 30-day suspension for serving minors and a lack of management control,” he said. “Another 15 days is going to be held in advance in the event another offense occurs.”Commissioner Michael Phelps questioned an employee of the store as to why alcohol was sold to either minor in the first place.”Why are these people still working for you if they sold alcohol illegally,” he said.Attorney Sam Vitali, who is representing the store, spoke for the employee and said that he recently underwent a medical procedure that requires him to frequently use the lavatory, and during the evening of the illegal sales, he requested the help of an employee who usually works in the redemption center of the store to sell alcohol for a few minutes.Visibly irritated by the explanation, Phelps said the answer was unacceptable.”You don’t think that that’s out of control to have someone that doesn’t know what they’re doing to sell alcohol,” he said. “The store was basically out of control because he had to go to the bathroom?”Vitali said the employees would be certified in Training for Intervention Procedures (TIPS), which is required for bar employees to undergo within one year of employment, on Dec. 23 to ensure that they are properly trained in the future.”The people that were on the staff before for the first and second offenses were fired, and these people are new,” he said. “So we talked it over and decided that those involved would be TIPS certified.”The store, which has been open since 1998, essentially has three sections: convenience store, redemption center and package store.Abutters and residents have issued complaints regarding the store, which is often frequented by the homeless and underage minors in search of alcohol.Lynn Police Sgt. Rick Carrow said during the sting operation on Nov. 19, a volunteer from Girls Inc. successfully purchased a 22-ounce bottle of Budweiser beer.The Marblehead teen, unrelated to the sting, purchased a bottle of wine, and a bottle of vodka. She was issued a summons for a minor in possession of an alcoholic beverage.