Are N.H. state liquor stores facilitating money laundering?

From Robert Whitcomb's "Digital Diary,'' in GoLocal 24.com

The logo of the New Hampshire Liquor Commission. The global shape represents the worldwide products the commission sells, the triangular shape the shape of the state, and the "L" shape  for "liquor".

Most adult New Englanders know about New Hampshire’s highly lucrative state liquor stores, the revenue from which helps the Granite State avoid having state income or sales taxes. The New Hampshire Liquor Commission had a staggering (for a small state) $698.2 million in sales last year.

Consumers drive from all over the Northeast to buy cheap booze in New Hampshire.

But now, it turns out, there may be funny business, with Andru Volinsky, a member of the state’s Executive Council, calling for an investigation of the commission for, he says, enabling out-of-state bulk purchases and perhaps breaking federal tax laws. Mr. Volinsky tells New Hampshire Public Radio that the commission’s practices could “unquestionably facilitate money laundering related to criminal activities.’’

Whenever government sets itself up as a business, whether in liquor or gambling (as with state lotteries and state-government overseen casinos) the potential for associated crime should be obvious.

To read the New Hampshire Public Radio article, please hit this link: