BY MATT HERSH

A recent alcohol sales compliance check by Salem police yielded several repeat offenders and a state liquor store.

Police officials said nine Salem businesses sold alcohol to minors during the check on May 24.

Deputy Police Chief William Ganley said he wasn’t expecting to see Route 28’s state liquor store on the list.

“I was surprised, but the state liquor stores are just like any other store,” he said.  “Someone made a sale and just like any other business, you have to face the problems.”

The check of 45 businesses by police and officials from the state Bureau of Liquor Enforcement was part of an ongoing effort to reduce underage drinking during the end-of-school season.

The nine store clerks who sold to underage buyers range in age from 16 to 41. They were each charged with misdemeanor prohibited sales.  They are due for arraignment in Salem District Court on June 25.

As school graduation approaches, Ganley said police intend to continue their efforts but a change in technique may be required since business owners have been calling each other to give advance warning.

Instead of mass checks, police may begin sporadically checking a handful of stores every night, Ganley said.

“We’re just trying to keep them honest,” he said.  “If they just follow the law, they won’t have to worry about what we’re doing.”

Of the nine businesses involved in the check, Levendi’s Restaurant on Lowell Road and 7-Eleven at 1108 Cluff Crossing have both been cited three times for selling to minors in the past few years, Ganley said.

The other businesses listed were: Chief Wok, 224 N. Broadway; Kashmir, 396 S. Broadway; Hess gas station, 362 N. Broadway; Mike’s Red Barn, 301 Main St., Race Mart, 52 Lowell Road; and Papa Gino’s, 99 Cluff Crossing.

The individuals charged were: David Joy, 38, of Windham; Joseph Parisi, 56, of Pelham; Theresa Benso, 23, of Amesbury, Mass.; Jatinder Singh, 20, of Arlington, Mass.; Daneen Finn, 41, of Seabrook; Wendy Colby, 24, of Nashua; and Pritesh Patel, 19, of Methuen, Mass. Two 16-year-olds from Massachusetts were also charged.