DA Reminds Students, Parents About Drinking, Social Host Law

Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett is reminding students and parents about the laws on hosting parties and underage drinking during prom and graduation season.

Scam Artists and Scoundrels Prey Upon Elderly, DA Says

Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett says the Essex Anti-Scam Task Force was formed to share information between law enforcement agencies on current scams. The DA says the public also needs to be more aware of organized scam tactics.

[The following was submitted by Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett.] There is a knock at the door. A young man explains that he and his uncle just finished paving a driveway down the street. They notice that your driveway is in disrepair and he offers to fix it with his left over material. He says it will cost about $300. After doing the work, he comes back. It seems that your driveway was worse off than expected and involved more work. So now it costs $1,500. Now what? Often, this scenario and others like it are treated as civil complaints when in fact, this is a crime perpetrated by a member of an organized criminal enterprise. These thieves, who tend to target the elderly, are skilled at tricking people into giving them …

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