Man Charged In Underage Drinking Party Makes Court Appearance

SPRINGVALE (NEWS CENTER) -- Michael Pitrone appeared in Springvale District Court to face charges stemming from a large after prom party that resulted in 40 minors being arrested. Pitrone pled not guilty to the charge of furnishing a place for minors to consume alcohol. The state wants Pitrone to pay a fine, as well as serve jail time, for his involvement in the incident.

The York County Sheriffs Department says Pitrone held a party at a residence on East Shore Road in Acton on May 22. Officers arrived to find 40 high school-aged kids from Revere, Massachusetts involved in a loud party. Officers charged the minors with consumption and also brought charges against Pitrone. Seven off-duty officers were brought in to help control the crowd and issue summonses -- part of a "party patrol" paid for by a local group fighting to curb underage drinking.

"We are hoping that the presence of more law enforcement on weekends or times when kids are going to have these party's is going to automatically reduce the number of kids that go because of the fact that they don't want to go through all that hassle," said Connie Roux, Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator for Goodall Hospital's Partners for Healthier Communities program.

The program is working with local law enforcement agencies, schools and parents to battle the problem of underage drinking. The program has held workshops for store clerks, bartenders, servers and business owners to educate them about Maine alcohol laws, meetings with parents to talk about their role in keeping kids from drinking and is providing police agencies with tools to help prevent underage drinking.

"We are taking the approach that it is no one person's responsibility, but it is a community responsibility," said Roux. "I think that is where the difference is because you have got momentum going, more people on the bandwagon, more people trying to send a message that it is not just a rite of passage - we don't want kids in our community that are underage, or high risk, drinking and causing other kinds of problems which come with alcohol."

Partners for Healthier Communities is one of 28 programs across the state affiliated with the Healthy Maine Partnership program. All have received funds to work on addressing the issue of youth drinking and substance abuse. For more information about underage drinking programs you can visit the Maine Office of Substance Abuse's teen drinking resource website by clicking here.