Having Solved all Other Crimes... Ohio Liquor Agency Cracking Down on Secondary Market Sales

In a move that should piss off conservatives (depriving the ability to sell your personal property) and liberals (violations of the first amendment), The Ohio Liquor Agency is cracking down on secondary market liquor sales. The Norwalk Reflector reports:

"Agents charged Robert C. Jaskolka,73, of Brunswick; Dennis M. Rigney-Carroll, 44, of Upper Arlington; Brian L. McSwain, 42, of Mason, and Joshua D. Ulam, 35, of Walton, Ky., with illegal sale of beer or intoxicating liquor without a permit, a first-degree misdemeanor. Agents also charged Gerald R. Osborne, 52, of South Point with illegal sale of intoxicating liquor, a first-degree misdemeanor, illegal possession of intoxicating liquor, a first-degree misdemeanor, and illegal transportation of intoxicating liquor, a fourth-degree misdemeanor."

If convicted, each person could receive the maximum 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Osborne may also face another maximum 210 days in jail and $1,250 fine.

The types of liquor sold are not known, but the assumption is that they are bottles that were purchased and resold rather than being created spirits that are being resold (as that would be a much larger charge).

As a reminder, the State of Ohio creates the pent up demand by controlling where liquor is sold, for how much money they are sold for, and how many bottles each store gets. Due to this, the Ohio Liquor sale is directly responsible for the inflated prices and for the creation of a secondary market. It goes to show how inept and ridiculous the laws are in Ohio and makes us question who the state is serving by doing this. They are hiding behind veiled threats, like this one from OHLQ superintendent Jim Canepa:

“Secondary sales are a no-win situation. They hurt the small businesses that sell these products legally and put consumers at risk,”  

“Consumers are susceptible to both counterfeit or tampered-with products. We’re grateful the Ohio Investigative Unit takes these cases seriously to keep our market fair and consumers safe.”

If the state was worried about keeping people safe, they could eliminate secondary sales immediately by privatizing liquor sales and allowing supply and demand to dictate the market. If a person is looking for a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle or any of 1000 other brands and bottles that aren't available in Ohio, the only way to get it is through the secondary market.

If you are looking to sell a specific bottle, be on the lookout for the OHLQ... it sounds like they don't have enough real crimes to actually solve...


Source: Norwalk Reflector