New Canaan Mother Charged For Allegedly Hosting Underage Drinking Party

NEW CANAAN, Conn. (CBSNewYork) – A Connecticut mother was arrested Saturday night after police received an anonymous tip that underage drinking was taking place her home.

Mary Molano, of New Canaan, first told police that only her 15-year-old son was home, CBS2's Meg Baker reported.

"The story changed within a few seconds to she thinks he has about five friends over. Officers heard some noises in the basement and they did smell the odor of alcohol which is common, sometimes kids spill, they play beer pong," Sgt. Carol Ogrinc said.

Police then went down to the basement where they found empty beer and alcohol containers. About 25 teens ran out of the ground-level basement, breaking through a screen door, Baker reported.

Ogrinc said 54-year-old Molano was arrested for risk of injury to a minor and failing to halt possession of alcohol to a minor.

People in town agree underage drinking does go on, but say it needs to stop.

"It definitely goes on and it does bother me because kids should be safe. They can get hurt if you have a teenager getting in a car after, there can be accidents," Kendall Webb said, a student at New Canaan High School.

"You hope you are raising your kids the right way and they are going to do the right thing, but sometimes when they don't have the thing to say no, their friends talk them into doing things they don't normally do. They are young and going to make mistakes," New Canaan resident Mary Dicosmo said.

Ogrinc said with social media and text messages, a group can quickly multiply.

"Because of five friends, an innocent party or gathering can turn into 50 very fast. It's the responsibility of the parent to occasionally go check," she said.

Footprints can still be seen in the snow where the teens tried to flee police, police said.

None of the teens were allowed to drive home and each had to be picked up by a parent.

Molano posted a $5,000 bond and is set to appear in court Wednesday, March 18.

New Canaan police sent a letter of notification to all parents advising them to sit down with their children and talk about the risky behavior.