Purchasing alcohol in a New Brunswick liquor store could not have been easier for Johnny Tatsch this past summer, as the blonde haired, fair-skinned Rutgers senior presented an identification card that said he was a 27 year-old named Vasquez.
"The woman sells it to me and I'm obviously not Mexican," Tatsch said, refusing to give his real last name.
Others, like Tatsch, continue to skirt the legal drinking age, despite New Jersey's best efforts in lining licenses with holograms and high-tech security features in order to distinguish real IDs from fraudulent ones in recent years.
"Actually, New Jersey IDs were one of the easiest to fake before they started the new ones," said Ed Ellsworth, who has managed the Golden Rail for six years.
Like other dimly lit bars and nightspots in New Jersey, the Golden Rail has equipped itself with scanners and black lights to help thwart forgers, but Ellsworth admits that sometimes bouncers and bartenders rely on experience, even if the technology is at their disposal.
"After checking for a while, you know what certain signs to look for," Ellsworth said, refusing to mention the signs because that would give people a heads up on what bars look for.
Ellsworth also said the Golden Rail confiscates fake IDs almost every night, as soon as they are spotted.
"Basically, it gets the idea out of circulation because what happens is they go to another bar," he said. "We look out for the other bars to avoid trouble - [we] can get hit with a very large, hefty fine."
Rich Beischer, a first year student, recalled being kicked out of Olde Queens Tavern because the fake ID he bought in Manhattan for $40 came up as fake on the bar's scanner.
"They told me to get lost," Beischer said, adding his replica may not have worked at the bar, but at least they returned it, so he hopes to use it at other venues.
"It's a college town," said Frank Schweighardt, four-year manager and bartender of the Olde Queens Tavern. "It doesn't happen often, but it happens."
Noah Tyrrell, former bouncer and current bartender in the Scarlet Pub, noted how there are more people who show up with someone else's ID - of a friend who looks like them - rather than a fake ID.
When that happens, Tyrrell said, bouncers ask to see credit cards or anything else that can prove the name is correct.
"The main things we look for are holograms under the black light - it makes certain pictures and symbols visible," Tyrrell said, adding that the condition of a person also influences whether they will be admitted into the bar.
"If people get intoxicated or are clearly too drunk to be at the bar, we don't let them in. We're really strict over here and like to maintain a good reputation," he said.
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