"He would not knowingly allow this to occur," Rafferty says, "because he's going to lose his license [if he continues to amass violations]. And the value of that business is tied to that license. The guy has got a business there. If he's knowingly turning a blind eye to the age issue, he's making a bad decision. It does defy explanation otherwise."

"I think it's partly ignorance," says Scali.

Rafferty says that McCarthy has not followed his suggestions on carding policies, one of which he proposed to the Cambridge License Commission in 1995.

"I tell him to put up big signs saying that if you look under 25, you need a Massachusetts license, but he says 'I'll go out of business' [because his clientele is primarily out-of-state]," Rafferty says.

Laying Down the Law

But McCarthy says he has turned over a new leaf since the ABCC hearing. He says he is requiring backup IDs for out-of-state patrons and is considering implementing a swipe machine to verify driver's licenses within the next two weeks, as well as hiring a second bouncer to double-check patrons. McCarthy also claims he is looking into collaborating with Harvard to validate University identification.

Many students say the Grille has been much stricter about carding, and has drawn fewer students because of fears of another raid. According to one first-year, the Grille's bartenders, many of whom declined to comment to The Crimson, are upset about declining attendance.

"The Grille has become much more challenging for the average patron," one first-year regular writes in an e-mail message. "While previously the 'pass-back' was an almost foolproof method for getting in a friend who did not have a positive ID, such activity is no longer even an option. It seems as though the bouncers have become much more scrupulous."