State moves to revoke Casa Rica’s liquor license

The Casa Rica Restaurant and Sports Bar on East Main Street, which has been the site of police activity on and off since it opened in 2009, is now facing two separate liquor license revocation hearings at the New York State Liquor Authority.

A proceeding to cancel or revoke the liquor license held by Potrerillo’s Corp. at the East Main Street bar is scheduled for Sept. 29. The licensee is charged with violating the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Law by allowing the premises to become disorderly, leading to an assault on a patron there May 16.  Riverhead Police arrested Roberto Ortgoza, 32, of Southampton at Casa Rica at 3:30 a.m. on that date and charged him with second-degree assault, according to police records.

A separate revocation hearing, stemming from an SLA/Riverhead Town investigation of the premises in May, was scheduled for Aug. 4, but was adjourned, according to William Crowley, director of public and legislative affairs at the State Liquor Authority.

In that matter, the licensee is charged with violating SLA regulations by employing one or more unlicensed security guards and failing to conform with all applicable building codes and fire regulations regarding blocked exits. Misdemeanor charges were brought against Casa Rica principal Carlos Bonilla Moreno, 31, of Centereach, as a result of that investigation.

“The licensee made a conditional no contest offer of $2,500 to settle this case on August 3, 2010.  This offer was rejected as unacceptable by the SLA’s Counsel’s office,” said Crowley in a Sept. 14 email.  “The licensee had until August 25, 2010 to submit another offer.  They did not and a hearing on the matter will be scheduled shortly.”

Phone calls to the number listed in public records for Casa Rica Restaurant and Sports Bar were not answered this week.

Another enforcement action in August resulted in another arrest for Casa Rica principal Moreno, again for employing an unlicensed security guard.

Last fall, the SLA moved to suspend the bar’s license for allegedly serving alcohol to a minor on Sept. 14, 2009. A Casa Rica bartender, Esperanza Canales of Medford, was arrested by Riverhead Town Police and charged with unlawfully dealing with a child in the first degree. The licensee entered a conditional no contest plea at the SLA in December, the terms of which mandated a 25-day license suspension and a civil penalty of $2,500.

SLA records indicate that the licensee, Potrerillo’s Corp., had “no adverse history” with the agency before the Sept. 2009 incident.

A fight outside the bar in July 2009 led to an attack with a machete, seriously injuring a Flanders man, according to town police, who arrested Jose Escalante-Pinto, 38, of Riverhead and charged him with first-degree assault. No charges were brought against Potrerillo’s liquor license as a result of that incident.

Riverhead has increased patrols on Main Street since the opening of the bar, Police Chief David Hegermiller said this week.

Potrerillo’s Corp. was incorporated in New York State in Feb. 2008. According to SLA records, the principals in Potrerillo’s Corp. are Ramon Martinez-Padilla, of Brooklyn, Margarita Moreno and Carlos Bonilla Moreno, both of Centereach.

The address for Potrerillo’s listed in the state’s business entity database is an address in Shirley which appears in State Liquor Authority records as a premises licensed to Tomatoes of L.I. Corp doing business as Lounge Las Vegas.