Council suspends 2 liquor licenses

The crackdowns continued on liquor establishments Monday night (July 25, 2005) as the City Council meted out two suspensions for a liquor store near City Hall and a West Front Street bar.

Acting as the local Alcoholic Beverage Control board, the council imposed a 30-day suspension on Apven-Bam Inc., trading as George W. Bantle Liquors at 438 Watchung Avenue and a 12-day suspension, to include two weekends, on Luigi Terraglia, trading as Pueblo Viejo at 311-17 West Front Street.

Frank Capece, the city‘s attorney for ABC matters, said the Watchung Avenue store had four instances of selling liquor to underage persons since 2002. Under ABC laws, he said, the fourth violation should have triggered revocation of the store’s liquor license. But because the violations dated back to 2002, the council chose the more lenient penalty.

Barbara "M." Maisto, a corporate lawyer for licensee Barbara "A." Maisto, said a July 2 auto accident had left the licensee totally incapacitated until mid-September and asked for an adjournment to that time. When a reporter asked about the relationship between the two similarly named women, the attorney refused to answer.

The attorney said the store was the sole livelihood of the licensee and it would violate her 14th Amendment rights to due process to hold the hearing without letting her respond to the charges.
But citing the violations, Capece said, “It’s rare that you ever get a case so black and white.”

Capece said holding a liquor license was a privilege that implied certain responsibilities.

“I can think of no more basic responsibility than that you don’t sell liquor to minors,” he said.
Police Captain Anthony Celentano said some of the charges resulted from “integrity checks,” in which undercover police officers under 21 attempted to buy liquor in so-called “sting” operations.

The Pueblo Viejo settlement came out of an agreement between manager Taufik Palacios and the Police Division that the nightclub would work with Celentano to screen security guards and monitor conditions at the club.

Palacios said gangs such as the Latin Kings and Salvadoran groups caused trouble at the club. He said management had installed 32 cameras to monitor activity in the club.

“That’s the best I can do,” he said.

Noting that most of the 27 police calls over six months about fights or narcotic distribution were from the management itself, Capece said the council should not use the volume of calls to decide the case.

City Council President Linda Carter and Councilman Cory Storch opposed the settlement.

Carter asked why the club was not getting 15 or 30 days‘ suspension. Capece said he asked for “what was defensible” if the matter was appealed.

But Carter said things shouldn’t have gone so far before the action plan was devised.

“There is more they could have done,“ she said.

“This is a dangerous place, right in the middle of the downtown,” Storch said.

Both license holders can appeal the suspensions to the state ABC board and Capece said he framed his cases with those appeals in mind.

--Bernice Paglia

KEYWORDS: Liquor licenses, public hearing

Related story: Drink Up (6/28/05)

Old ABC violations...just a hand slap?

The city’s promise to crack the whip on liquor establishments has so far resembled just a few lashes with a wet noodle.

In March, the City Council imposed a 30-day suspension on La Bamba Inn and a lesser penalty on Watchung Liquors.

La Bamba is still open, pending an appeal, and Watchung Liquors got off the hook by installing video cameras to deter loiterers.

In further hearings of the council acting as the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board last month, the council decided after lengthy testimony that a liquor store near City Hall had violations warranting a 30-day suspension and a West Front Street nightclub should be shut down for 12 days, including two weekends.

The Watchung Avenue store between City Hall and police headquarters , George W. Bantle Liquors, sold liquor to minors on four occasions, according to Frank Capece, special counsel for ABC matters.

The West Front Street club, Pueblo Viejo, generated 27 police calls within several months, but no violations, Capece said. But the Aug. 1 resolution said the club had a violation, “Nuisance adversely affecting the public safety.”

The council ordered suspensions for the liquor store and nightclub effective Monday (Aug. 8, 2005) which means Pueblo Viejo only gets suspended for just one weekend.

However, both can evade the suspensions by filing appeals.

With more than 30 liquor establishments on the books, the council has asked for more timely reports on violations so the governing body can exercise its powers as ABC board on a more timely basis.

COMMENT: The question that comes to mind, when violations dating back three years now seem urgent, is why the council does not address the problems in the context of annual license renewal hearings.

--Bernice Paglia

Drink Up

PLAINFIELD - PUBLIC HEARING (6/27/05) - It'll be business as usual for all 35 holders of Plainfield liquor licenses. That's the result of the June 27th public hearing on license renewals. Those whose paperwork is in disarray or who have charges pending will be able to go to Trenton and get temporary licenses.

Nevertheless, attorney Frank Capece, who was hired to work on liquor license matters, promised more hearings that could lead to suspensions or denials. Even the North Avenue bar, La Bamba, that Capece vigorously attacked in a hearing several weeks ago, will be open pending an appeal to the Office of Administrative Law.

Only two residents spoke at the June 27 hearing.

Sheldon Green complained that people buy liquor at JFT Liquors on Grant Avenue, then drink outside and urinate in public. Green said his nearby recycling bin was filled with bottles left by the al fresco drinkers. He said the assumption is that people buy liquor and then take it home to consume “in the comfort of their living rooms,“ but that’s not what happens at JFT.

Nancy Piwowar said a liquor store at Clinton and Front also holds a flea market, allows truck parking and sells used cars on the premises.

Police Captain Anthony Celentano said drug activity at both locations had been investigated, but until Green raised the question, he had no reports of drinking in public at JFT. At Clinton and Front, he said, police also investigated allegations of prostitution.

City Council President Linda Carter asked for more frequent police reports on liquor establishments so the council can make informed decisions in its role as the local Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.

Plainfield's liquor license holders include five social clubs, 14 bars and 14 stores, and two inactive bar licenses.

--Bernice Paglia

KEYWORDS: Liquor licenses, public hearing