A store owner in Rochester NY was fined $10,000 and expects to lose another $20,000 in revenue for selling wine gift bags... yes, it's illegal to sell wine gift bags in NY. Dare to ask why? The sale of a wine gift bag apparently constitutes "alcohol resale." I suspect the enforcement has slightly more to do with the $10,000 cash grab than any alcohol resale epidemic.
The saddest part of the story:
Palmeri blames himself -- not the state. "Ignorance of the law is no excuse," he said. "It's like saying you didn't know what the speed limit was. I violated the statute."
poppycock. Dollars to doughnuts that you can't find me a peace officer who knows every law s/he is supposed to be enforcing. There's just too many of them. Beyond that, it's an absurd law that nobody should be expected to obey or enforce, let alone make one's self aware of.
I blame the enforcement bureaucrats. I realize that the police (or whoever is responsible for citing this store owner) is just "doing their job" but aren't there more pressing issue to be addressed in New York? Then again, at $10,000 per fine, I suspect they're somewhat motivated to ignore the muggings and crack down on those deviant gift bag salesmen. Good public servants don't uphold bad legislation.
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