NY: Liquor Authority can make charges when police can not
By Geoffrey Wilson, Poughkeepsie Journal
July 20, 2018
Over the past several months, the State Liquor Authority investigated two City of Poughkeepsie businesses and pulled their liquor licenses after troubling incidents.
The first involved an altercation with a patron and a bouncer at Milo’s Cantina on May 31. Caught on a video that went viral, the bouncer appears to put the patron in a choke hold. More recently, multiple allegations were made about the Exempt Firemen’s Association social club, including drug sales and gambling, from May through early June.
Both cases have involved law enforcement agencies, but neither case has resulted in criminal charges. Instead, administrative charges were brought by the State Liquor Authority.
Vincent Bradley, chairman of the authority, said the organization can be defined by two main functions.
“We provide liquor licenses for manufacturers, wholesale businesses and retailers in New York, and we ensure compliance of the law by these licensees,” Bradley said.
The agency held 589 disciplinary hearings in 2015 for businesses across the state, according to its most recent annual report. Allegations ranged from assault and sale to minors to failure to comply with local regulations. The authority can issues suspensions, cancellations and revocations, as well as impose fines.
A video published to YouTube on June 2 appears to show a bouncer at Milo’s putting a customer, Mike Boyce, into a chokehold before slamming him to the ground. The authority approved a plea deal with the bar including a a $7,000 fine and a 60-day liquor license suspension, but owner Jeremy Phillips announced Milo’s would not reopen.
The investigation of the Exempt Firemen’s Association allegedly found instances of illegal gambling and sale of narcotics at the Poughkeepsie social club, according to the authority. Chris Petsas, alcoholic beverage control officer for the club, was accused of smoking marijuana and running dice games in the agency’s charges. Petsas, who also represents Ward 1 on the city Common Council, declined to comment on the administrative charges.
But investigations and charges with the authority are different from criminal procedures.
While the authority often cooperates with local police on investigations, the burden of proof on administrative charges is less than for criminal. Allegations or evidence that support a charge from the authority may not be substantial enough for criminal charges.
Businesses facing charges from the authority have several options for how to address them. But that lesser burden of proof may influence the business to make a plea deal.
Granting a liquor license
The authority offers different licenses for retailers, manufacturers and wholesale businesses. On-premise retail licenses, the kind used by restaurants and bars, are the most common, Bradley said.
The process to obtain this type of license can take one to two months, though the authority can grant a temporary license within two weeks while the review takes place.
The review process for this type of license accounts for the licensee’s criminal record and background and the history of the location.
“We also take the local municipality’s stance and public comment into account,” Bradley said.
The license includes specifications on the scope of the business, meaning it must operate within that scope or risk charges with the authority.
In 2015, the authority reported overseeing 53,000 active licensees and 35,000 permitees, according to its most recent annual report.
The most common violation in 2015 was sale to minors with 1,377 instances, per the report. This was followed by failure to comply to local regulations, with 493 violations, and failure to conform to the application, with 278 violations.
There were 138 assault violations, 91 gambling violations and 34 controlled substance violations for the same year, the report said.
Complaints, investigations and charges
The authority investigates every complaint that reaches the office, Bradley said. Yet there are varying degrees of action the authority can take against a business.
“How we handle it depends on the type of incident, whether there’s a trend of complaints and the licensee’s history,” he said.
A single, anonymous complaint about a minor issues, such as a noise complaint, might prompt a warning letter informing the licensee of the complaint and offering advice on how to address it. The agency can also issue fines for more serious infractions, Bradley said.
The agency reported ordering $6,226,525 in civil penalties and $296,000 in bond claims in 2015, per its latest report.
The authority can impose three major punishments against a business found guilty of administrative charges, Bradley said.
A license suspension requires the business to stop selling alcohol for a set number of days, usually ranging from a little over a week to a month. A cancellation requires a business to apply for a new liquor license, but this can be done immediately. A license revocation disallows the licensee from applying for a new license for two years, and it revokes any other liquor licenses the person or business holds.
The authority imposed 42 revocations, 292 cancellations and 42 suspensions totaling 1,418 days in 2015, per the agency’s latest annual report.
The authority can impose an emergency suspension when charging a business in serious cases. It imposed 19 emergency suspensions in 2015, per the agency’s report.
“We resort to emergency suspensions in cases where there’s a threat to the public health and safety and community welfare,” Bradley said. The two recent Poughkeepsie cases were emergency suspensions.
The authority and local law enforcement have a symbiotic relationship. Police often provide the agency with tips of potential infractions related to criminal investigations.
“If we discover evidence of criminality, we will pass it along to law enforcement, though that’s rare,” Bradley said. “More often, they inform us of potential allegations.”
Trooper Anthony Hicks, public information officer for New York State Police Troop K, said state police will assist in investigations
“If they believe there’s a criminal aspect to their investigation, they’ll give us a call and brief us for our own investigation,” Hicks said.
Hicks said state police typically works with the State Liquor Authority on undercover investigations into bars and liquor stores selling alcohol to minors.
Capt. Steven Minard, of the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department, said the department will send the authority a referral if an investigation may be of interest to the SLA.
“We will notify them if we receive a complaint regarding a pub,” Minard said.