Maggies Restaurant and Sports Bar was shut down and had its liquor license suspended today, according an official from the New York State Liquor Authority.

At about 10 a.m. today, the Liquor Authority suspended the bar’s alcoholic beverage license on charges of selling alcohol to underage patrons, operating more than one stand-up bar and lack of registration of security guards, among other charges, according to documents provided by Michael Smith, a public information officer for the Liquor Authority.

Chris Raslan, general manager of Maggies, could not be reached for comment this afternoon.

The suspension stems from a two-hour police raid early in the morning of April 1, according to the documents. More than half of the 300 patrons in the bar were underage, police found. It resulted in citations for underage drinking, sale of alcohol to a minor and possessing or using fake identification.

During the raid, four bartenders were arrested for unlawfully dealing with a child, Smith said.

Investigators found that Maggies had 10 employees working as security guards who were not licensed by the government, and who were being paid in cash and not on payroll. One security guard was a convicted felon, Smith said.

In response to the charges, the state Liquor Authority found Maggies’ operation was a threat to public health and safety. Notification of the suspension was placed on the front and back doors of the bar this afternoon.

Maggies has until May 8 to plead to the charges. A hearing will be scheduled when the Liquor Authority receives the plea, Smith said. The license owners can plea either not guilty or no contest to the charges. Failure to respond to the notification counts as a ‘no contest’ plea.

shmelike@syr.edu

Published on April 15, 2009 at 12:00 pm