Meeting: Salem Licensing Board held Monday January 11, 2010 at 6:00 pm in the third floor conference room, 120 Washington Street. Present were Chairman Bob St. Pierre, Members: John Casey and Rick Lee, Investigator Lt. Ouellette and Melissa Pagliaro, Clerk.
Approved: One Day Liquor Licenses. Applicant: Boston Ballet YMCA at Leggs Hill Road. Present: Carolyn Rock and Evangeline Rooney.
Ms. Rooney said that they are applying for a One Day Liquor License for a reception to introduce the new principal of the school from San Francisco.
Mr. Casey asked if they were selling tickets.
Ms. Rock said no it is by invitation only.
Mr. Casey asked what they would be serving for alcohol.
Ms. Rock said it would only be beer & wine. She said the event is on Wednesday January 20 for around 90 people from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. She said they have called for a police detail as well.
Mr. Casey told Ms. Rock to fax the insurance to Ms. Pagliaro.
Mr. Casey motioned to approve.
Mr. Lee seconded
Approved: Store Fortunetelling License. Applicant: Witch’s Hide, 190 Essex Street. Present: Delilah Bettencourt.
Lt. Ouellette said the BOP was cleared
Mr. Casey motioned to approve
Mr. Lee seconded
Approved: Store Fortunetelling License. Applicant: Broom Closet. Present: Jeanne Garrahan, owner and June Baker sub-licensee.
Mr. Casey asked if there were any changes.
Ms. Garrahan said no there were not, she is just keeping one reader.
Lt. Ouellette said the BOP was cleared
Mr. Casey motioned to approve
Mr. Lee motioned to approve
No-Show: Jeffrey Noonan for a Renewal of an Individual Fortuneteller’s License.
Approved: One Day Liquor license. Applicant: Salem Chamber f Commerce. Present Rinus Oosthoek .
Mr. Oostoek said that this is a wine tasting that kicks off the Annual Salem So Sweet festival.
Mr. Casey asked if it was all alcohol.
Mr. Oosthoek said it was only wine.
Mr. Casey asked how many people would be there and if they arranged for a police detail.
Mr. Oosthoek said there would be anywhere from 150-180 people and they did call for a detail.
Mr. Casey motioned to approve and waive fee for the non profit.
Mr. Lee seconded
Denied: Twenty two (22) One Day Liquor Licenses. Applicant: 62 on Wharf.
Present: Antonio Bettencourt, owner. Mr. St. Pierre asked Lt. Ouellette to
Speak on this matter.
Lt. Ouellette said that previous One Day Liquor Licenses that have been issued to restaurants in the past may have been in error. He said that Mr. Bettencourt has an Annual License for Beer & Wine and a Seasonal License for All Alcohol. He said that he requested 22 One Day’s to get him through the Seasonal period so he could serve all alcohol on certain dates. He said the law states that One Day Liquor Licenses can only be given to non profits for events.
Mr. Lee motioned to deny
Mr. Casey seconded
Approved: Common Victualler’s License. Applicant: Café Valverde. Present: Eleni Valverde and Mr. Valverde.
Mr. Valverde said that they were going to open up a European style shop. He said they will serve coffee and coffee drinks. He said they are gutting the inside and replacing everything with new equipment to code and new furniture.
Mr. Lee asked if they would be serving sandwiches or food .
Mr. Valverde said that all the food will be brought in because they do not have a kitchen. He said they will offer refrigerated desserts, pastries and baked goods. They will also offer salads at lunch.
Mr. Casey asked that Mr. Valverde drop off a more refined menu once they have it for the file.
Mrs. Valverde provides Ms. Pagliaro with the legal as from the paper and the mail receipts from abutters.
Mr. Casey motioned to approve the Common Victualler’s License for Café Valverde at 196 Essex Street for seven days a week from 7am-11pm.
Mr. Lee seconded
Approved: Weekday Entertainment License. Applicant: Café Valverde. Present: Mr. & Mrs. Valverde.
Ms. Valverde said it would be for a stereo, CD player and tv, although she is unsure about the TV.
Mr. Casey said we will include it so if she chooses to have a TV it will be on the license.
Mr. Casey motioned to approve
Mr. Lee seconded
Approved: Extinguish Class II Auto License for Salem Classic Autos at 282 Canal Street. Present: Sheldon and Elaine Stone.
Mr. Casey asked what was happening.
Mr. Stone said they are selling the business to Mr. Cabrera.
Mr. Casey asked when this was going to happen.
Mrs. Stone said hopefully the application will be approved tonight.
Mr. Casey motioned to extinguish the Class II Auto license held by Sheldon and Elaine Stone at 282 Canal Street.
Mr. Lee seconded.
Approved: Application for Class II Auto Dealer’s License. Applicant: Salem Classic Auto Sales. Present: Dionisio Cabrera.
Mr. Casey asked if Mr. Cabrera was still looking to keep the same 30 vehicles as allowed on the previous license and asked if the lot was paved or dirt.
Mr. Cabrera said the lot is paved.
Mr. .Casey said he is going to put a condition on the license that stripes for vehicles must be painted by May 15, 2010 and that the 30 vehicles must be in the striped off spaces. He said the last time that he and Lt. Ouellette were there some abandoned trucks and cars were there. He said that those also have to be removed.
Mr. Sheldon said those belong to the truck company and they know once Mr. Cabrera is in there they cannot park trucks or vehicles there.
Mr. Casey said to also be sure that there are no vehicles blocking the sidewalk.
Mr. Cabrera said that there is plenty of room.
Lt. Ouellette suggested he check with Fire Prevention just to make sure that they way the vehicles will be parked will not be blocking anything.
Mr. Casey told Mr. Cabrera to c check with Ms. Pagliaro to set something up to have Fire Prevention check the lot.
Mr. Casey motioned to approve the Class II Auto License at 282 Canal Street, with the same name, Salem Classic Auto Sales, with the following conditions.
#1- Get approval from Fire Prevention that nothing is being blocked by where vehicles will be parked.
#2- No parking into sidewalk
#3- Non sale vehicles must be removed
Mr. Lee seconded
Hearing
Continued: Dodge Street Bar & Grill, 7 Dodge Street. Present: James Willis Counsel for Dodge Street, Frank Presutti, owner, Mr. Rutledge, victim and Salem Police Officer Gil Priddy.
Mr. St. Pierre asked Officer Priddy to speak first.
Officer Priddy read from a police report and his noted what happened regarding the incident at Dodge Street on Nov.8, 2009.
Officer Priddy said that he responded to a police call and met with Mr. Rutledge and a waitress at the establishment. Mr. Rutledge told Officer Priddy that about 20 minutes prior, he had a verbal exchange with a man working in the bar, a Stephen Spillers. Mr. Rutledge said that Mr. Spillers was angry over something that he heard Mr. Rutledge say and came from behind the bar with and expandable black police baton and struck him. Mr. Rutledge said that he called police and the waitress backed up this story.
Mr. Rutledge said that Mr. Spillers took off. Officer Priddy said that Mr. Rutledge refused medical attention. Officer Priddy said that whikle he was speaking to Mr. Rutledge, Mr. Presutti seemed upset that Mr. Rutledge called the police. Mr. Presutti said that he had no information on the employee that struck Mr. Rutledge and then fled. Officer Priddy said he strongly encouraged Mr. Presutti to go inside and see what employee information he could find on Mr., Spillers. He said that Mr. Presutti did give him a number but it was either false or not working.
Officer Priddy said that Mr. Rutledge later went to the police station to speak to him and said he did not wish to pursue any charges against Mr. Presutti for anything. He said that when he was leaving the establishment Mr. Presutti spoke to him and said that he was upset about the incident. He said that Mr. Spillers called the bar before he left and that Mr. presutti gave Mr., Rutledge the phone. He said that Mr. Spillers threatened Mr. Rutledge. He said that was the close of the report and that there was nothing further to provide the police with additional information on Mr., Spillers.
Mr. St. Pierre asked how they tracked Mr. Spillers down.
Officer Priddy said they have not but obtained information through other warrants on Mr. Spillers.
Lt. Ouellette asked how Officer Priddy got Mr., Spillers name.
Officer Priddy said that the waitress identified him as did Mr. Presutti but Mr. Presutti did not provide any other information on him.
Attorney Willis said that Mr. Rutledge was present tonight and said the as he stated at the November 23rd meeting does not agree with Officer Priddy. He said that Mr. Rutledge had attempted to call Lt. Ouellette 4 times about the report.
Lt. Ouellette said that he returned every call but that Mr. Rutledge’s voicemail was full and did not allow him to leave a message.
Mr. Presutti said that he feels as though he tried to fully cooperate.
Mr. St. Pierre asked to hear from Mr. Rutledge.
Mr. Rutledge said that on the evening of the incident at around 8pm he and his brother were at the establishment. He said he had seen Mr. Spillers at the establishment before. He said that Mr., Spillers was listening in on his conversation and became angry at something that he said. He said that Mr. Spillers then appeared on the customer side of the bar, produced a weapon and struck him with it on the left side of the face and then ran off. He said that he had heard through other people that Mr. Spillers did not have a very good history. He said he then called police but does not believe that the weapon came from behind the bar. Mr. Rutledge said at no time did he state that Mr. Presutti threatened him or make him feel uncomfortable about
calling the police. He said that all of this has been a mess and that Mr. Spillers actually charged him with threats with a weapon in court He said he had a hearing today and Mr., Spiller’s did not show up. He said that Mr. Presutti has been helpful and has no issues with the way Mr. Presutti handled things.
Mr. St. Pierre asked where the weapon came from.
Mr. Rutledge said that he did not know that it must have come from Mr. Spiller’s person. He said that Mr. Spillers had been showing people the weapon.
Mr. St. Pierre asked if anyone in the bar called the police.
Mr. Rutledge said that he himself called.
Lt. Ouellette asked Mr., Rutledge if anyone else in the bar called, Mr., Presutti for example and said he as the only one to call. He also asked Mr. Rutledge if he felt that because Mr. Spiller was an employee if Mr. Presutti should have had some personal information on him like an address.
Mr. Rutledge said he was not sure as he was not sure of the situation. He said he was not sure if Mr. Spiller’s was an actual employee or not.
Attorney Willis said that Mr. Presutti has run this establishment for 7 years with no problems. He said no one is sure why Mr. Spillers was carrying a police baton. He said that after that incident Mr. Spiller’s is not eligible for rehire at the Doge Street. He said that Mr. Spiller’s was not acting in his scope of employment.
Lt. Ouellette asked how Mr. Presutti would call Mr. Spiller’s in for work.
Attorney said that Mr. Spillers just came around looking for work.
Mr. Lee asked Mr. Presutti to explain to the Board how he did not have any employment records for Mr., Spillers. He said he should be paying taxes and as the bar owner he should have his employees information.
Mr. Presutti said that Mr., Spiller’s comes around to different downtown restaurants and does odd jobs so he let him help out sometimes.
Mr. Lee asked Mr. Presutti if he cooperated with the police.
Mr. Presutti said that he did. He said that he gave Officer Priddy and Salem Police whatever information he had on Mr. Spiller’s.
Mr. Lee asked if he was upset that police were involved.
Mr. Presutti said absolutely not.
Mr. Lee asked if Mr. Presutti has seen Mr. Spiller’s since the incident.
Mr. Prseutti said yes one time.
Lt. Ouellette asked Mr. Presutti if he called the police when he saw him.
Mr. Presutti said yes he did call and advised Mr., Spillers to turn himself in.
Mr. Lee said he felt as though something is not quite right in this situation.
Mr., St. Pierre asked if Mr., Presutti was present when this incident happened.
Mr., Presutti said no he came after. He said that he tried to give the police all the information he had. He said he has no reason to protect Mr. Spiller’s.
Mr. St. Pierre asked officer Priddy if the victim wanted to persecute.
Officer Priddy said that he was adamant about prosecuting.
Lt. Ouellette asked Officer Priddy if he felt as though at any point Mr. Presutti did not cooperate with you.
Officer Priddy said yes because he was a paid employee of the establishment and the owner did not have pertinent information on him.
Lt. Ouellette said that it is stated that Mr. Presutti chastised Mr. Rutledge for calling police when the officer was not present.
Mr. Rutledge said that eh has put up with a lot from Mr. Spiller’s since this incident. He said that he is a very problematic person. He said that Mr. Presutti did not have the information but he tried to get it. He said that Mr., Presutti also did not chastise him at all for calling the police. He said he feels as the the issue is that Mr., Presutti did not have any information for the police about Mr. Spiller’s.
Mr. Lee asked if Mr., Presutti has issues a no trespass order on Mr. Spiller’s.
Mr. Presutti said not yet but he will.
Mr. Lee told Mr., Presutti he should have done that immediately.
Attorney said that Mr. Presutti asked him about doing a No Trespass order but he told Mr. Presuttti to wait because they did not have all the information on Mr. Spiller’s.
Mr. Lee said they are going to give Mr. Presutti a verbal warning and told him this is part of a progressive discipline.
Mr. Casey seconded and told Mr. Presutti to get the No Trespass order done.
Separate discussion:
Lt. Ouellette said that notice has been taken of some people that have been hanging around the establishment that are not very good for the City. He said they are putting Mr. Presutti on notice of that and hopes there are no further problems at this establishment. He said these sorts of groups usually bring problems.
Mr. Presutti said that he does not condone any kind of gang activity.
Hearing: Strega. Present: Linda Cappuccio, owner. Attorney John Crawley for alleged victim, Jessica Evans and alleged victim Tom Sutton.
Ms. Cappuccio said that her attorney is on vacation.
Mr. casey said that the Hearing should be continued then.
Lt. Ouellette did point out that the Hearing notice that Ms. Cappuccio received does state that she has the right to have her attorney present. He said that is she knew her attorney would not be available she should have contacted the Board as the other parties went through the trouble to be here and one had her attorney her which is costly.
Attorney Crawley said that it is true that they went through the trouble to be here and would like to make some sort of statement but does not oppose a continuance so that Ms. Cappuccio’s attorney can be present.
Ms. Cappuccio said that she has also filed a claim to her insurance company regarding this incident but has not yet been deposed.
Mr. St. Pierre said that Attorney Crawley may speak.
Mr. Casey suggested that Ms. Cappuccio get a tape of the Hearing so that her counsel can listen to it.
Ms. Cappuccio said this is a little confusing to her.
Attorney Crawley said that he did speak briefly to Ms. Cappuccio’s counsel and tried to send a letter but was then unsure of who counsel was going to be. He said the issues with the insurance company have no bearings on these proceedings. He said this was not a Hearing to resolve insurance issues but the safety of the public.
Lt. Ouellette asked Ms. Cappuccino who her attorney was going to be.
Ms. Cappuccio said Joan Lovely would be representing her.
Lt. Ouellette said that if she chooses to go through with the Hearing that her attorney cannot come back for a do over.
Mr. Sutton said he did not think that it was fair to him that he had to come back again.
Mr. Casey asked all parties if they would be able to come back in two weeks.
All parties said they could.
Lt. Ouellette said that if all parties were willing to come back that it is a waste of time to go through this now.
Attorney Crawley said he would still like to make a short statement. He said that on Nov. 7, 2009, Mr. Sutton and Ms. Evan were assaulted by other patron/patrons at Strega. He said that Strega may have information on whom the assailant or assailants were. He said that no criminal charge shave been filed as of yet. He said there was another man and woman, who were also patrons at Strega and there was some kind of verbal exchange. He said that Mr. Sutton said something to the Strega staff. He said that Ms. Evans went out to see some other patrons and both she and Mr. Sutton were attacked from behind. He said that Ms. Evans was knocked out. He said that Mr. Sutton asked the Strega staff to call police and they did not. He said that
this was not an incident that happened at last all either, it was mid-evening.
Mr. Sutton said that he and Ms. Evans each filed individual police reports.
Mr. Casey motioned to continue Hearing until January 25, 2010.
Mr. Lee seconded.
Lt. Ouellette recommended that with the motioned to continue that this be the last and final time that this matter is continued.
Mr. Lee motioned to approve
Mr. Casey seconded
Approved: Mr. Casey motioned to take notice about the current events at 315-317 Essex Street rooming house, which Steve Morris owns and have Lt. Ouellette monitor ongoing violations and determine which will warrant a review.
Mr. Lee seconded
Old/New
Business: Old:
Mr. Casey read a report from Sgt. Harry Rocheville regarding noise at Murphy’s. He states there were 22 total calls since opening and 6 of those were initiated by police. There were 3 service calls and 4 service call due to the burglar alarm. 68% of the disturbance calls were unfounded or unreasonable.
Lt. Ouellette request that the CIU go back and continue to monitor the situation and to bring Murphy’s back in to discuss reinstating the Entertainment License.
Mr. Casey motioned to approve
Mr. Lee seconded
Old:
Mr. Casey updated the happening on the discussion about the increase of Lodging House fees. He said he met with Rich Viscay the CFO for the City and discussed the justification for raising fees. He said a part of that was to figure out how long each department spends , also spoke about a fine if rooming houses fail to comply with department instructions and they have to go back to re inspect.
New:
Mr. Lee motioned to know have all complaints to come in to Licensing go to Lt. Ouellette. Lt. will check them out and then let the Board knowhow to proceed.
Mr. Casey seconded
Mr. St. Pierre said that he would like to go back to the way it was in the past for a more formal approach to address a complaint.
New:
Mr. St. Pierre said that he would like to form a committee to discuss a more consistent discipline policy. He said he would like the committee to consist of 1 Board member, Rinus from the Chamber of Commerce, Lt. Ouellette and representative for the liquor establishments in Salem.
Mr. Lee volunteered to be the board member for the committee.
New:
Lt. Ouellette said he wanted to discuss some incidents at Gulu-Gulu Cafe. He said there have been 2 or 3 police reports recently of incidents that have occurred there. He said he thinks they should come before the Board to discuss issues so maybe the Board can squash bigger issues. He said years ago that the Board would bring establishments in to put them on notice.
Mr. Casey motioned to approve calling Gulu Gulu in for discussion
Mr. Lee seconded
Approved: Meeting Minutes from December 14, 2009
Mr. Lee motioned to approve
Mr. Casey seconded
Commun-
ications: Letter received from anonymous tenant who resides at 315-317 Essex Street.
Adjourn-
ment: Mr. Lee motioned to adjourn
Mr. Casey seconded
Respectfully Submitted,
Melissa Pagliaro
Clerk of the Board
Submitted: January 22, 2010
Approved: January 25, 2010
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