Nassau launches license scanner giveaway

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice says she plans to help bars and restaurants keep underage patrons from drinking, and from driving drunk, by providing free driver's license scanners.

The scanners -- donated to the DA's office by Heineken International -- can help show a doorman or bartender whether a license is fake, Rice said. Since starting the program Monday, her office has given out more than 50 and has about 400 on hand.

"Bartenders, servers and restaurant managers are on the front lines in the fight against underage drinking, so providing them with these license readers will be an effective deterrent," Rice said.

The device, a security laminate verifier made by 3M, uses a special light that highlights the watermark in a New York driver's license. It is not clear how the reader will work on out-of-state licenses, though restaurant and bar owners said they are already wary of non-New York IDs. Although the license readers were donated, they sell for about $20 each, said Chris Munzing, a spokesman for Rice. He said he was not aware of a similar giveaway program elsewhere.

Rice's office gave 50 of the scanners to Brian Rosenberg, the founder of Restaurants Against Drunk Driving and the owner of Sugar Dining Den and Social Club in Carle Place.

Rosenberg said he plans to distribute the scanners to some members of the Long Island chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association, which RADD recently merged with, by Friday for use on the holiday weekend. "We were planning on using license readers for anybody that comes into the door after a certain time," said Butch Yamali, owner of MaliBlue Oyster Bar in Lido Beach, which received a reader from Rosenberg.

Len Oliva, an owner of Ciao Baby in Commack and Massapequa, said it has become increasingly difficult to discern fake IDs because of technology improvements. "This machinery will definitely be an asset to us," he said.

Rosenberg tested the devices at his own venue, Sugar Dining Den, last weekend and said he caught about 15 people with fake IDs. Rosenberg will pass them out to other restaurateurs and bar owners in Nassau and Suffolk counties, and when he needs more the Nassau DA's office will replenish his supply.

Meanwhile, individual business owners are encouraged to call Rice's office to get a scanner directly.