Liquor regulators weigh restarting underage stings after Prince of Wales check

Alaska's alcohol regulators haven't run regular underage sting operations in about a decade. When investigators did one on Prince of Wales Island this summer, employees at three of the four alcohol businesses they checked were cited for furnishing alcohol to a person under 21.

At the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board's Sept. 1 meeting, the board's chair asked how the checks could be brought back, according to minutes posted ahead of the board's Nov. 17 meeting.

In a compliance check, a person under 21 working with investigators walks into a licensed business and tries to buy alcohol. Alaska State Troopers asked the state's Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office for help with reports of underage drinking on the island, and Investigator Joe Hamilton led a small team to the Craig and Klawock area on July 30. Troopers said at the time that every business checked, including marijuana shops, was out of compliance.

The team only got to four alcohol businesses because of vehicle trouble, Chief Investigator Joe Bankowski told the board. "It's clear that there needs to be additional enforcement measures taken there," he said, though nothing is firm yet.

The board voted unanimously to issue formal accusations against three licenses: Craig Inn, Hill Bar and the Klawock Liquor Store, which the City of Klawock holds. An accusation is a formal step against a license. It doesn't establish that a violation occurred.

The statewide program stopped because the underage decoys had no official employment status, which raised questions such as who would cover them for workers' compensation. "So, it's really just missing the employment piece," Bankowski said. The Prince of Wales checks relied on Department of Public Safety resources, and nothing is set up to do the same elsewhere, he said.

Board Chair Dana Walukiewicz called the program's halt "probably not acceptable." "Lack of enforcement is concerning," he said. He asked whether a temporary agency could employ the decoys, and Bankowski said he was willing to explore any option. Hamilton ran the program for years and could help restart it "very easily," Bankowski said.

The control office also has three vacant investigator positions.