At a Guttenberg Alcohol Beverage Control Board meeting on Oct. 6, the Town Council voted to suspend a local bar’s liquor license for almost three months, and heard testimony against a different bar for allegedly failing to maintain a safe environment outside.
The bar Cosmos 2000, located at 7001 Jackson St., had its liquor license suspended for a total of 85 days after the board heard two different charges against them. However, they will remain open while they appeal the ruling to the state.
Another establishment, LaCarretta at 6912 Bergenline Ave., is facing two charges due to the fact that a police officer was allegedly attacked in the area of the establishment on two separate occasions. The board heard testimony in both matters on Monday, and a sentence will be rendered in December.
ABC boards in local towns have the authority to conduct hearings on suspected liquor license violations, as well as to approve or justify denying liquor license transfers. In smaller towns like Guttenberg, the town council can act as the ABC board.
The outcomes of the hearings can be appealed to the state ABC board.
Customer apparently injured by pool stick
On Monday night, the board rendered a decision regarding the bar Cosmos 2000. They had heard testimony on Sept. 9 about two supposed brawls at the establishment.
According to a police report about the incident, a brawl broke out at Cosmos 2000 on Aug. 26, 2007.
According to the report, there was a confrontation involving three bar employees and three individuals after the individuals were denied access to the bar.
The report states that officers arrived at the scene and observed would-be customer Caesar Roca lying in the vestibule area of the bar. He had “blood about his head, face and upper body as well as all over his pants,” according to the report. The report said that a cut to his head was 6 to 8 inches long.
The tavern’s bouncers told police, according to the report, that the individuals allegedly pushed their way into the bar and attempted to fight with the bouncers. The bouncers told police that Roca’s large cut was caused by his own friends.
Police also found a broken pool stick next to Roca’s blood. The bar employees said it had been grabbed for self-defense, broke in two, and fell into the blood.
One bar security guard, Alexi Chica, also had a cut to his head allegedly caused by the perpetrators. The police report said that another bouncer claimed he was punched in the face by one of the patrons, but he was uninjured.
No complaints were filed by any of the parties involved. However, when a bar suffers a brawl, it can often face charges from the local ABC board, who may consider the establishment responsible for the incident.
Two suspensions added together
At the ABC’s disciplinary meeting, with the Town Council and Mayor James Hannon acting as the ABC board, Cosmos did not produce any witnesses to discuss the brawl. The bar is operated by the Bernar Corporation which is owned by Oscar Cantillo of North Bergen.
“During the dispute, an employee of the licensee [allegedly] struck an individual, Caesar Roca, about the head with a pool stick, causing him serious bodily injury,” Councilman Gerald Drasheff summarized during the meeting on Monday.
Drasheff said that a year ago, the bar had been charged with a different violation and had worked out a plea deal with the town. In that 2007 plea deal, the bar’s 15-day suspension would not be enforced unless another violation happened within the next two years.
Now that there was a new charge, the board voted unanimously Monday to reinstate the suspension, and to add to it a new 60-day suspension, for a total of 75 days.
But that wasn’t the end of the bar’s troubles.
Officials also said that on Jan. 13, 2008 a police officer witnessed a live singer at the bar, which is prohibited for that particular type of establishment by city ordinance.
The board took another vote and unanimously voted to suspend the license for an additional 10 days.
The bar can now go to the state to appeal the charges. They can ask for a “stay” and remain open until their appeal is heard.
Cantillo’s attorney, Adolfo Lopez, said the bar does plan to file an appeal.
In some cases, the state board can allow a bar to pay a monetary fine instead of having its liquor license temporarily suspended. But in this case, the Guttenberg board recommended to the state that the sentence remain a suspension and not be converted to a fine.
Cop injured
Meanwhile, another bar, LaCarretta on Bergenline Avenue, is being investigated as a result of two incidents. Both ended with a special police officer, Joseph Keselica, being hit by individuals near the establishment.
On Monday, Officer Keselica testified about the incident. He was sworn in and gave a deposition about the two events. Also present were ABC Prosecutor James Coviello and the attorney representing Robel Inc., the operator of LaCarretta, Mario Blanch.
Roberto Rodrigues and Wilber Gattorno own Robel were also present on Monday.
The first incident occurred on Oct. 27, 2007, when Officer Keselica said he approached bar security guards who were trying to calm down Lool Rolando.
Keselica said he was on foot patrol of Bergenline Avenue when he witnessed Rolando allegedly punching, screaming and yelling at security.
“When I approached the man, he actually came at me and…[allegedly] charged at me with a threatening manner with closed fists,” Officer Keselica said during the hearing. “He hit me once in the lower abdomen and then, as I attempted to arrest the male, we both fell to the ground.” Keselica said that due to this incident, he allegedly received a hernia and an injury to his right knee. He said that there is currently a warrant out for Rolando’s arrest.
On June 9, 2008, while on foot patrol walking past the bar, he said an unprovoked individual came from the area of the establishment and allegedly began to punch him in his chest. He said that he was unable handcuff the individual until backup arrived, due to the suspect resisting arrest.
However, Blanch, the bar’s operator, said that security guards did not allow the individual, 20-year-old Jose Calle, into the bar because he was under age.
Prosecutor Coviello said in his closing statement that while there was no proof that Calle had been drinking in the bar, it was the bar’s responsibility to make the surrounding area safe.
“The council for the defense is taking an unusually narrow view for responsibility in this matter,” said Coviello. “He keeps suggesting that his client’s not at fault, his client’s not at fault, his client had done nothing wrong. It’s not a question of whether they have done a criminal act its question of responsibility.”
The ABC board will render a decision on LaCarretta’s two alleged violations on Dec 1.
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