In
September of 2003 the Legislature transferred
the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission
to the Office of State Treasurer. The agency's
responsibilities were specified in: MGL Chapter
10§ 71 which states that the commission
shall have general supervision of the conduct
of the business of manufacturing, importing,
exporting, storing, transporting and selling
alcoholic beverages as defined in section
1 of chapter 138, and also of the quality,
purity and alcoholic content thereof; and
in MGL Chapter 10§ 72 which states that the
commissioner may appoint a chief investigator
and other investigators for the purpose of
enforcing or causing to be enforced the penalties
provided by law against every person who is
guilty of a violation of chapter 138 of which
they can obtain reasonable proof, and shall
make all necessary and appropriate investigations
for that purpose.
Pursuant to this statutory mandate the Investigation and Enforcement Division established the following objectives: 1) To prevent the sale or delivery of alcoholic beverages to underage individuals; 2) To prevent the sale or delivery of alcoholic beverages to intoxicated individuals and potential drunk drivers; 3) To prevent the sale of alcoholic beverages that are illegally imported or purchased from an illegal source, allowing for tax evasion by the licensee, and to prevent the tampering or dilution of alcoholic beverages; 4) To prevent illegal gambling, particularly poker machines and other electronic gambling devices; 5) To prevent the sale or delivery of illegal narcotics on licensed premises; 6) To prevent undisclosed ownership of licensed establishments by individuals or criminal organizations; and 7) To provide suppliers, wholesalers and retailers of the alcoholic beverage industry with a fair and even playing field to conduct their licensed business.
The success of the ABCC enforcement programs is well documented as the ABCC Investigation and Enforcement Division has received the following national recognition of its innovative and successful enforcement programs for the prevention of underage drinking and drunk driving:
- 2004: Recognized as a National Success Story by the United States Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
- 2004: The ABCC's Chief Investigator was named the National Liquor Law Enforcement Association's 2004 Agent of the Year.
- 2005: Received the 2005 President's Award from the National Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving for its work in the prevention of underage drinking.
- 2007: Received the 2007 "Innovations in Health and Safety" Award from the National Conference of State Liquor Administrators.
- 2008: Received National Liquor Law Enforcement Association's 2008 Enforcement Agency of the Year Award.
The purpose of this form is to allow individuals to file complaints with the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission Enforcement Division relative to suspected illegal conduct of businesses licensed by the commission. Please provide as much detailed information that you are aware of relative to your complaint.
Documents available for downloading are in PDF format.
Adobe
Acrobat Reader is required to view PDFs.
Complaint Form
Public
Record Request Form
Law Enforcement Training
The Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission Enforcement Division works in a cooperative effort with Massachusetts Police Academies and Police Departments to provide training to law enforcement officers of the Commonwealth.
In 2009, the Investigation and Enforcement Division conducted Training Sessions for 270 Police Departments, and 1081 Officers, and in 2008 for 293 Police Departments and 606 Officers.
We offer two training seminars for Law Enforcement Officers: "Enforcement of the Massachusetts Liquor Control Act" and "False Identification / Fraudulent Document Detection".
This training is free of charge to participating law enforcement agencies. The optimal size of each class is 20 to 35 individuals, so it is often preferable that adjoining municipalities attend the classes at a host Department.
If you are interested in this training please
contact Chief Ted Mahony via email at fmahony@tre.state.ma.us
or Direct Line: (857) 453-2714.
