Casa Rica Restaurant Sports Bar has offered a plea in the license revocation proceedings pending before the New York State Liquor Authority, RiverheadLOCAL has learned.
Bar owner and license holder Potrerillo’s Corp. has offered to surrender its license to operate at 65 East Main St. and pay a $5,000 penalty, according to Riverhead Police Chief David Hegermiller.
An SLA hearing on the pending revocation charges was scheduled to begin this morning before an administrative law judge in a Mineola courtroom, but has been postponed due to the plea offer, Hegermiller said. Some 19 Riverhead police officers had been notified to appear at the administrative hearing, which was expected to continue for a second day on Monday, Hegermiller said. The department was notified of the postponement this morning, he said.
The downtown Riverhead bar had its liquor license summarily suspended by state regulators Nov. 3 after an emergency hearing before the SLA board of commissioners, which determined that the bar posed a threat to public health and safety. (See Nov. 4 story.)
With two revocation proceedings already commenced against the licensee for prior alleged violations, the SLA instituted a third proceeding Nov. 2, charging the licensee with failing to properly supervise the premises. Citing six altercations in the past year, most recently a fight inside the bar that sent a Riverhead man to Stony Brook University Hospital with multiple stab wounds to his abdomen, the SLA commissioners deemed the history serious enough to warrant immediate summary action.
“This bar was clearly a haven for violence, a drain on police resources, and an unremitting menace to the residents of Riverhead,” said SLA deputy CEO Michael Jones.
SLA legislative and public affairs director William Crowley said he could not confirm the specifics of a plea offer prior to its acceptance by the commissioners. However, he said the SLA would be looking for a “hefty fine” and permanent license surrender in a case like this. The next step in the process is for the SLA’s counsel’s office to review the plea offer and, if it deems it to be acceptable, recommend acceptance of the plea offer by the commissioners at their next monthly meeting, Dec. 1.
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