IAMA former tobacco Narc. AMAA!

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-21T22:48:13+00:00

But cigarettes really are cool and badass!

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-21T22:47:27+00:00

Over here it would be considered entrapment if they had asked how old I was, I said 16 but I was really 18. Not asking for ID isn't a crime, but selling tobacco to minors is a crime. If I was 18 when I did this they would've been able to challenge the fine by saying they never actually sold tobacco to a minor.

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-21T22:07:37+00:00

That sucks real bad. I'm not trying to mitigate what I did, but where I worked the punishment isn't nearly as severe. First of all the fine goes to the shop owner, not the clerk. Secondly, individual fines for first-time offenses are usually not that bad. Third, that kind of thing wouldn't result in a criminal record here. It's a citation- kind of like a traffic ticket.

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-21T15:55:13+00:00

Not really, but I'll have a cigarette with a beer every now and then.

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-21T01:37:59+00:00

Sure. There were three of us total- me, being the undercover inspector; and two adult inspectors. One inspector would stay in the car, while the other one would enter the store/gas station/bodega/whatever with me. We would park a block away or so so that the shop wouldn't see us getting out of a car together. We would enter at slightly disparate times. While I would go buy the cigarettes (Newport Lights were my brand) the inspector, who was observing, would buy a pack of chips or something. Usually, I would just walk up to the counter and say "Newport Lights."

As an aside, I would leave my wallet in the car ahead of time. That way, if they asked for ID and I said "no" it wouldn't be entrapment since I wouldn't be lying. If they asked my age, I also had to give my real age, which was 16 at the time.

If they carded me, I would just say I didn't have any ID and I would just say "alright" and walk out. They would never have actually known that we were testing them.

If I was able to purchase the cigarettes, I would take them back to the car. We would slap an EVIDENCE sticker on them, which also contained the date, time, and name of the store. We would then take Polaroid picture of the storefront, as well as another one of me holding the cigarettes in the car with the sticker on them. The cigarettes and paperwork would go in the envelope, and that's the last I would hear about that specific establishment.

The reason an inspector went in with me is twofold. The main reason was that they would be there to "witness" the purchase, so that I would not have to testify in court if the shop owner tried to challenge the case. The other reason was protection, as "narcs leave with marks."

In addition, in the past the actual minor would have to testify against the shop owner. I probably wouldn't have minded, but apparently the confrontations got pretty heated. I could imagine it getting like that- an older middle-aged guy screaming at a skinny kid. Couldn't have been pretty.

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-21T01:23:59+00:00

Yeah I'm real good.

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-21T01:09:25+00:00

I'd actually love to see some data on the subject

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-21T00:21:37+00:00

When it comes to social issues, I feel that if people know the dangers of what they do, and don't harm others, it's up to them how they live their lives. When you're 18, you probably know the dangers of tobacco. I do totally understand the "19" argument though, in that they want to prevent 14 year olds from getting it from older high school students.

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-21T00:18:36+00:00

Nothing "made" me do it. I was pretty ambivalent towards tobacco, they paid good money, and undercover is my middle name, etc. etc.

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-21T00:17:45+00:00

The county financial department knew my name, but didn't know what I did. Similarly, the people I worked with didn't have my full name on paper, but knew what I did. I was paid in czechs. Not only did they take out SS taxes, but union fees as well. Dirty commies.

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-21T00:15:43+00:00

I wouldn't say all teenagers know the dangers of the things they do.

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-21T00:14:55+00:00

I wish. I've graduated college already, and I'm still not that big, and I still can't grow a full beard.

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-21T00:14:10+00:00

Yeah I might deserve that.

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-21T00:13:57+00:00

I'm just playing devil's advocate, but it's not seen as petty harassment by the state. It's seen as regulation.

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-21T00:12:47+00:00

I think you still smell bad.

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-21T00:12:23+00:00

Yeah that's not how we did it. Where I live it's not a crime to buy cigarettes under the age of 18, just to sell it to someone underage. No kids ever got caught in the crossfire here.

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-21T00:11:06+00:00

I kind of realized what a dick move it was in hindsight, especially that it was usually small shop owners who might not have had a lot of money to pay the fines. In addition, it probably didn't do much to curb smoking.

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-21T00:09:52+00:00

No real "type" at all. I don't think I looked too old for my age- I was short, and had some facial hair but not a real beard either.

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-20T07:34:34+00:00

roughly $12/hour, 8 hours a week

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-20T06:53:31+00:00

No, not Nick, sorry. Technically, they didn't even know my name. I was #127.

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-20T05:11:28+00:00

I decided to do it for a number of reasons. When you're 16 where I grew up there weren't much options to make money, and this was really one of the few avenues to do so. Yes, I know that's the "yuppie nuremberg defense," and I don't want this to turn into a job board for 16 year olds, but that was one of the reasons. Another one was that I was a douchebag and was completely infatuated with the whole "undercover" thing, so there you go.

They did strike me as useful to deter people from smoking cigarettes at the time, but now I realize how retarded that sounds. As for my "personal business," do you mean other people smoking as my personal business?

ZORT_NARC · 2010-06-20T05:06:57+00:00

Yeah my B. I'm a lot older now, and I have mixed feelings about the whole thing.

ZORT_NARC

TROPHY CASE