DANVERS — A jewelry store at the Liberty Tree Mall received a three-day suspension of its secondhand seller’s license after a new employee took the wrong type of ID from a seller.
However, the suspension was held in abeyance for one year, meaning the store will not have to close if it does not get into further trouble.
Selectmen voted 4-1 to suspend the license of Blue River Diamonds after a show-cause hearing Feb. 5.
Detective Robert Sullivan had been checking store records on Nov. 21 when he came across a transaction in which a seller used a U.S. employment authorization card as identification, police Chief Neil Ouellette told the board.
Ouellette said Sullivan reminded manager Neal Van Dam about conversations that the detective had with the store in October on what kinds of ID were acceptable.
“Pretty much what the chief has put forth is exactly what happened,” Van Dam told the board.
He said the store takes the town’s licensing requirements seriously, and he understands what forms of ID are acceptable.
“A newer employee had taken an identification that was not an acceptable form of ID,” Van Dam said, adding that he held a staff meeting and took steps to prevent the incident from happening in the future.
“It’s the only incident in the two years you have granted us the license,” said Van Dam, who took responsibility for the incident.
He said he does not want to fire the employee.
Police have been cracking down on secondhand gold and jewelry buyers, to make sure such businesses are not purchasing stolen goods. For that reason, the town has strict regulations on record keeping for such purchases.
Selectman Keith Lucy was the only selectman to vote against the suspension, saying he felt the offense was a minor one.
Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673, by email at eforman@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @DanverSalemNews.
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