Liquor Retailer Under Investigation For Cutting Prices, A Violation Of State Law

Days after Total Wine & More filed a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn the state's alcohol pricing rules, the Department of Consumer Protection confirmed that it is investigating the giant retailer for openly flouting that law.

The department has received a flood of complaints that Total Wine is selling wine and spirits below the minimum prices allowed by the state, but Leslie O'Brien, the department's legislative assistant, said the investigation was not spurred by those calls.

Instead, O'Brien said, the investigation was launched after Total Wine ran a series of ads touting prices that were lower than the minimum set under state law.

O'Brien declined to discuss the details, citing the ongoing inquiry.

Read more: http://www.courant.com/business/hc-total-wine-investigation-20160826-story.html