KETV Omaha: Tribe Demands $500M From Beer Makers

[OmahaBlueDog]

48. Here's how a different example works

Last edited Sat Feb 11, 2012, 09:43 PM - Edit history (1)

Once upon a time, the Maryland State Police would get a wild hair about tax revenue being lost by folks going to Central Liquor in DC to buy booze on sale. So they got an undercover agent looking more or less like a wino, and placed him near a pay phone. He would note the MD license plate numbers on the cars pulling up to buy liquor, and phone them in. Then, they'd place a whole bunch of cop cars on the BW Parkway and other common exits into MD from DC. If they saw a car with one of the plate numbers, they'd pull the driver over, have him/her open the trunk, and bust them for "Rumrunning."

Basically, it was like a traffic ticket on steroids, but the booze was confiscated, and you had to take a day off to appear before a magistrate. Note, however, that it has nothing to do with sobriety. In most states, it's against the law to cross the line with booze. It's certainly a crime when the place to which you are bringing the booze is "dry."