Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Blog

A former inspector for the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABC) pleaded guilty last week to extortion charges and received jail time for using his position of authority to extort money from an Everett business under his jurisdiction.

Arthur Hitchman, 41, of Melrose, pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Jan. 11th, in Middlesex Superior Court to charges of Attempted Extortion, Soliciting and Accepting a Corrupt Gift to Influence an Official Act, Solicitation to Commit the Receiving of Stolen Property, and Improper Storage of a Firearm (two counts).

Middlesex Superior Court Judge Kathe Tuttman sentenced the defendant to two and one half years in the House of Correction on the attempted extortion charge and two years probation from and after on the additional charges.

The Everett Independent reports that according to authorities, the defendant contacted an individual who wanted to open a restaurant in Everett. Hitchman, who had knowledge of the prospective business owner's prior criminal conviction, indicated that because of that history the man might not be approved to receive a liquor license. However, Hitchman told the prospective business owner that he could secure approval for him if the man paid him $3,000 in cash.

On May 18, 2010, an undercover State Trooper, posing as a family member of the restaurant owner, met the defendant, confirmed the terms of his demand, and paid him $3,000 in cash.

The defendant allegedly accepted the money and told the trooper he would help secure approval of the license.

The investigation by Massachusetts State Police Special Service Section, Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office, as well as attorneys from the Middlesex District Attorney's PACT Unit, resulted in numerous conversations between Hitchman and the undercover trooper.

In these conversations, the defendant admitted that he had made changes to the affidavit filed by the restaurant owner in order to ensure the license would be approved by the ABCC, reports the Everett Independent.

Additionally, in the course of these conversations, the defendant, unprompted, offered to sell the undercover State Trooper illegal video poker machines worth more than one thousand dollars each, and suggested that the undercover State Trooper could use them to generate illegal revenues at the restaurant.

On July 13, 2010, a search warrant was executed at the defendant's residence in Melrose and, during the search, State Troopers recovered two 9mm semi-automatic pistols, one of which was loaded. Neither pistol was secured in a locked container or had a safety device of any kind.

Hitchman was arrested and arraigned that afternoon in Malden District Court where he was held on $3,000 cash bail with the conditions that he is to have no firearms and must stay away from the victim.

Greenfield's Board of License Commissioners has ordered the Easy Street Nightclub to remain closed through this holiday weekend - a traditionally busy time for Western Massachusetts eating and drinking establishments - after a series of recent problems, including the arrest of a co-owner of the nightclub on drug charges last month.

Bar owner Ivan Tristan was arrested in November on cocaine and other charges. The day after his arrest, town officials closed Easy Street for eight days, citing safety-code violations at the Fiske Avenue club, according to a report by the Greenfield Recorder.

On Tuesday, the Board of License Commissioners again ordered the bar to close, yanking the club's liquor license for 10 days - three of which must be served immediately. The remaining seven days were deferred, The Recorder reported.

It wasn't immediately clear what specifically triggered this week's closure, but club manager and co-owner Ananda Larson last month agreed to correct the safety issues.

William B. Allen, chairman of the Board of License Commissioners, told 22News that even though Tristan is no longer involved with the bar, Larson is still responsible for the violations.

Tristan denied the drug charges at his arraignment last month in Greenfield District Court. Greenfield Police Detective Kevin Rowell said Tristan was the subject of a five-month investigation into illicit drug activity at the club.

Police in Foxboro, Mass. arrested a Taunton man who led them on an almost hour-long chase after fleeing the scene of a car crash along Route 495 Northbound last Friday evening.

50-year-old Howard Stockbridge was arrested and charged after rear-ending a Rhode Island man's car on 495 North in Foxboro and then driving away from the scene.

Massachusetts State Police found Stockbridge almost an hour later walking through a parking lot along Route 106 and discovered he smelled of alcohol and "observed that his eyes appeared glassy." Stockbridge told the arresting trooper he was coming from a nearby gym.

However, prior to Stockbridge being placed into custody, witnesses of the accident in which he was involved called the State Police to report the hit-and run.

Police were given the vehicle registration number from the witnesses and through the Registry of Motor Vehicle records were able to trace the truck to a home in Taunton with Stockbridge's name. An eyewitness later contacted State Police to inform them the truck involved had become disabled on Route 495 northbound at the Route 106 Overpass.

It was also reported the driver of the truck was seen fleeing into the woods near Route 106.

Police then began an extensive search of the wooded area where the truck was located and also noted the front end of the disabled truck had heavy front-end damage and was leaking radiator fluid. Inside the truck troopers found multiple empty beer bottles inside a cooler and a cold, but empty, additional bottle on the passenger seat.

Their search ended with Stockbridge being taken into custody and learned while booking him at the Foxboro Barracks that Stockbridge appropriate operating under the influence offense as OUI-7th offense, and also determined that he was "under a 10-year license revocation for a previous drunk driving conviction."

Police said Stockbridge was not injured in the car accident.

District Attorney Michael Morrissey hosted more than 150 educators and police from across Norfolk County at an all-day conference providing strategies to prevent and address underage drinking and other dangerous behavior, according to patch.com

"The time to address underage drinking is before it comes into court as an alcohol-fueled assault, or the car crash that takes a life or causes permanent injury," said Morrissey.

Good article in southcoasttoday about fake ID's going "high-tech," and the difficulty law enforcement and local business owners have in discerning which ID's are fake. Businesses may want to consider buying a machine that can read the license and help determine whether it is legitimate.

The Taunton Daily Gazette has a story on how the Taunton Police are getting tougher with sting operations and are on the hunt for liquor license violations and underage drinking. The state's Executive Office of Public Safety and Security has awarded a $9,700 grant to the Taunton Police Department specifically to combat underage drinking.

Alcohol-related visits to local emergency rooms spike whenever Boston teams win championships and have parades, but effective public-safety oversight means we don't experience the same sort of "horrendous" violence that other cities experience when they win, the Boston Public Health Commission reports.

The commission says it compiled ER stats from Boston championship runs dating back to 2004, and including this year's Bruins' championship:

The Bruins' victory parade on June 18 generated the most alcohol-related hospital visits with 46, followed by 45 during the 2008 victory parade after the Celtics won the NBA championship. The 2007 parade after the Sox won the World Series generated the fewest alcohol-related ER visits with 20.

On the spectrum of assaults, 21 people - or three more than a typical Saturday - went to the ER for assault-related visits on the Bruins' parade day, while only 8 went in 2004 on the day of the Patriots victory parade, which was 1.5 fewer visits than average.

In a statement, Public Health Commission Executive Direct Barabara Ferrer said:

Clearly, the data show that our town of titles has an effective public safety response when it comes to managing the euphoria that comes with winning championships. And while it's always important to remind people to drink in moderation, we are not seeing in Boston the horrendous consequences of excessive alcohol consumption that has enveloped some other cities.

CBS news reports that fake ID's in Massachusetts and elsewhere are becoming more sophisticated, with the advent of better technology, and present a public safety challenge. Re-creating holograms has spawned a lucrative, underground market for false ID's.

The Brockton Enterprise reports that City Councilor Tom Monahan wants to explore ways to better promote downtown businesses after the License Commission Wednesday night rolled back the closing time of Joe Angelo's Cafe & Deli.

During the three-hour hearing, commission members voted to reduce the weekend hours of Joe Angelo's from 2 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
The action came in response to a series of fights in the parking lot behind the downtown bar, including a May 12 brawl in which two people were stabbed.

Monahan said bar owner Joe Angelo wants to have talks with other councilors, police and fire chiefs and the owners of other downtown bars about what can be done to help downtown businesses thrive. Monahan wants to talk about what the city can do to better promote downtown business.
"We can all sit together and see what we can come up with to bring business to these establishments," he said.
License Commission members voted to roll back the bar hours after hearing testimony from a half dozen police officers and public input from three city councilors, including Monahan, Paul Studenski and Jass Stewart.

The 1 a.m. closing is a permanent roll-back, but Angelo will be able to reapply in six months to have the 2 a.m. closing reinstated.

Commission member Scott McDuffy told the newspaper that the commission would keep an open mind moving forward. "We'll look at it and see how that (rollback) affects things and changes it, hopefully for the best," he said.
In addition to closing an hour earlier, the commission is also requiring all entertainment to stop at 12:30 a.m. and no admittance to be allowed after midnight.

The commission also passed new rules for all bars and restaurants with a 2 a.m. license, requiring them to not allow anyone into the establishment after 1 a.m., to stop all entertainment at 1:30, and to stop serving alcohol no later than 1:45.

The Boston Globe reports that Massachusetts' top federal judge, Mark Wolf, has said that Boston City Council's authority to oust Chuck Turner from office last month following the councilor's conviction for accepting a bribe is legally uncertain, and Turner's lawsuit to regain his seat might be turned over to the state courts.

Wolf ordered lawyers representing Turner and the city to submit their recommendations as to where the case should be decided by noon Friday.

Wolf is treading carefully because he said the question of whether the council has the legal authority to remove an incumbent has never before been decided in Massachusetts.

"This case involves issues that are fundamental to our federal system of government and, indeed, our democracy,'' Wolf wrote in his decision. "Respect for the role and responsibilities of the state generally make it most appropriate for state courts, rather than federal courts, to decide uncertain issues of state law, particularly if they relate to state or local elections.''

A timely decision is crucial because special elections to fill Turner's seat have been scheduled for Feb. 15 and March 15.

Turner, convicted in October for taking a $1,000 bribe from a Roxbury businessman seeking a liquor license from the city, is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 25. If he is sent to prison, he would automatically be removed from office.

But the City Council -- citing new rules adopted following Turner's indictment that permit them to remove a councilor for "unbecoming conduct'' by a two-thirds vote -- had expelled him in December.

"It appears that the council's authority to remove Turner before he is sentenced is uncertain,'' Wolf wrote.

Last Monday, Turner and some of his constituents sought an injunction preventing the special elections and restoring him to his seat on the council, arguing that state law does not give the City Council the authority to remove him.

Turner had filed a lawsuit in December arguing that the council violated his rights when it expelled him. Fifteen of his constituents joined in the suit, contending they are disenfranchised because they no longer have district representation on the council.

Federal judge Douglas Woodlock has sentenced former state Senator Dianne Wilkerson to 3 1/2 years in prison for taking $23,500 in bribes in a scandal that rocked the Massachusetts State House and Boston City Hall.

The Boston Globe reported that Woodlock said he recognized Wilkerson's service to the community but he called her "financially embarrassed and fiscally incontinent" and said she had imposed her own "Wilkerson tax" on the community by accepting the bribes.

He rejected her plea for a lesser sentence, saying a message needed to be sent that political corruption would not be tolerated. "It's clear the sentencing imposed for criminal conduct here -- and in other industrial states, frankly -- hasn't been sufficient," he said.

He ordered Wilkerson, once a rising star in the state Democratic party, to turn herself in March 11 to begin serving her sentence at the federal prison in Danbury, Conn.

Wilkerson, in a lengthy plea of mercy during the sentencing hearing, offered no specific explanation for what she had done. She also said she had always acted on her constituents' behalf and the bribes she had taken did not affect her actions.

"If it was possible to do something criminal without being criminal, that would be me," she said.

Outside the courthouse after the sentencing, Wilkerson said she accepted responsibility for her crimes but believed that corrupt federal prosecutors went after her and former Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner, who was also convicted of a bribery charge, because they were outspoken politicians who challenged the status quo in Massachusetts.

A federal judge has delayed the sentencing of former state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson for corruption charges. Wilkerson was scheduled to be sentenced this week, but both the prosecution and the defense asked U.S. District Court Judge Douglas Woodlock to consider additional information first.

Woodlock heard more testimony from Dorchester developer Azeed Mohammed, who claims Wilkerson solicited bribes. Mohammed told the judge he gave Wilkerson $5,000 over a four-year period.

Wilkerson was not charged over those alleged payments, and her lawyer has said she did not solicit the money.

The defense may also have Wilkerson herself take the stand to explain her request for leniency.

"The battle here today is over how to persuade the judge," WBUR's David Boeri said from federal courthouse.

Sentencing is now set for Jan. 6.

Wilkerson pleaded guilty in June to eight counts of attempted extortion after she was captured on video stuffing bribe money into her bra. She was accused of taking $23,500 in bribes to help get a liquor license for a nightclub and an undercover agent posing as a businessman.

Attorneys for a former Massachusetts state senator who pleaded guilty to accepting $23,500 in bribes are complaining that federal prosecutors are trying to persuade a judge to sentence her to more than the four years maximum called for under a plea agreement.

Boston Democrat Dianne Wilkerson pleaded guilty in June to eight counts of attempted extortion after she was captured on video stuffing bribe money into her sweater and bra. She was charged with accepting the bribes to help get a liquor license for a nightclub and an undercover agent posing as a businessman who wanted to develop state property in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston.

U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock has scheduled Wilkerson's sentencing for Dec. 22 after listening to a prosecutor and defense lawyer argue over what factors the judge should consider when sentencing her.

In a sentencing memo filed in November, prosecutors said they would ask for a sentence of four years, which is higher than what is recommended in federal sentencing guidelines. Prosecutors cited Wilkerson's conviction in 1997 for failing to pay $51,000 in federal income taxes and numerous campaign law violations.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John McNeil wrote that Wilkerson has "repeatedly demonstrated that she believed that she was above the law."

During a hearing to set her sentencing date, Wilkerson's lawyer, Max Stern, suggested that prosecutors were paying "lip service" to sticking with their recommendation for a four-year sentence, but appeared to be trying to get Woodlock to impose an even higher sentence.

Local businessman Ronald Wilburn concluded three days of lively testimony at the trial of Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner and then predicted that Turner will be convicted of lying to FBI agents, according to the Boston Globe. Wilburn, 71, was an undercover informant for the FBI during an investigation that netted Turner and former state senator Dianne Wilkerson.

Turner is on trial for attempted extortion for allegedly accepting a $1,000 cash bribe from Wilburn and for lying to FBI agents for allegedly telling them that he did not know Wilburn, and that he and Wilburn never discussed setting up a fund-raiser for the Roxbury councilor.

Jurors saw secretly recorded videotape of the two men meeting in Aug. 3, 2007, and of Wilburn as he allegedly handed over cash to Turner.

On the stand, Wilburn clashed with Turner defense attorney Barry P. Wilson and also used props to show what happened to the paper money as he allegedly handed cash to Turner while being questioned by a federal prosecutor. During questioning, Wilson effectively accused Wilburn of going to work for the FBI because he was in dire financial straits. Wilburn was paid about $30,000 by the government for his work.

But Wilburn insisted his finances were in good shape when he agreed to become cooperating witness because his wife had a $70,000 a year job with Fidelity Investments and adult daughter was working for the PetSmart chain earning $55,000 a year.

However, Wilburn also acknowledged that his wife lost her job in the fall of 2008 - just about the time that Wilkerson was arrested on corruption charges.

Wilburn accused authorities of deliberately unmasking him in as a cooperating witness in a Globe article on Nov. 10, 2008. The Globe reported that Wilburn was the unidentified man who gave Wilkerson $6,500 in secretly videotaped payoffs, leading to her arrest two weeks earlier. The unmasking was based on interviews with three associates of Wilkerson. Assistant US Attorney John T. McNeil confronted Wilburn about whether he himself put his name in the media long before that. Wilburn was the subject of a Globe column in July 2007 -- when he was secretly cooperating with the FBI -- about his inability to obtain a liquor license for a supper club he wanted to open in Roxbury.

The Boston Globe reports that an inspector for the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission from Melrose who was arrested in July for allegedly taking a bribe in exchange for obtaining a liquor license has been indicted in Superior Court.

Arthur Hitchman, 39, was indicted by a Middlesex grand jury on charges of attempted extortion, soliciting, and accepting a corrupt gift to influence an official act, solicitation to commit the receiving of stolen property, and two counts of improper storage of a firearm. His arraignment in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn is scheduled for Oct. 8.

The charges stem from Hitchman's July 13 arrest after State Police investigators assigned to the office of Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone conducted a sting that the DA says shows Hitchman accepted a $3,000 bribe to secure a liquor license for an unnamed convicted felon.

The felon was allegedly attempting to open a restaurant in Everett. According to authorities, the Everett man had planned to run his business and obtain the liquor license using the name of a female relative.

Hitchman intervened, according to the DA, offering to help obtain the license for $3,000 in cash. An undercover state trooper, posing as the female relative's husband, met Hitchman May 18 to delivery the money, which the DA said he accepted. According to the DA, authorities have documented conversations between Hitchman and the undercover officer in which Hitchman admitted to altering the Everett restaurateur's license application to ensure its passage by commission.

Hitchman also allegedly offered to sell the undercover officer illegal video poker machines worth thousands of dollars. Hitchman allegedly suggested that the machines could be used to generate illegal profit at the Everett restaurant.