Man Charged With Buying Teens Four Loko

A Berwyn man is charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor after police say he bought a teenager cans of Four Loko which later caused him to be hospitalized.

Police say Ruben D. Rosas, 29, bought three of the alcoholic energy drinks for two teens who were friends of his brother on Friday night in Riverside.

The mother of one of the 15-year-old boys discovered him vomiting the next morning and took him to a local hospital where he was treated for alcohol poisoning.

"Four Loko is marketed as an energy drink and may contain high levels of alcohol depending on where it is sold," Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel said in a statement.

Chicago-based company Phusion Projects LLC has come under fire in recent years because of the product's popularity with young drinkers.

In 2011, under pressure from the Federal Trade Commission, the company agreed to add a message on its cans stating "This can has as much alcohol as four to five beers.

The company also decided to remove caffeine from its formula the same year, after several states moved to ban it.

A 23.5 ounce can of Four Loko contains 12 percent of alcohol content and sells for about $2.50.