PORTLAND — Police said they will base most of their argument for denying a liquor license renewal to the Cactus Club on two pending allegations of liquor law violations.
Assistant Chief Mike Sauschuck said the violations allege that two women in the bar were highly intoxicated, which, he said, “fits a pattern of conduct by the management.”
In addition, he said, police will point to incidents that have occurred around the Fore Street bar. The Portland City Council tentatively plans to discuss the renewal at its Jan. 19 meeting.
The bar’s lawyer, David Turesky, is out of the country, and repeated attempts to reach the owner, Thomas Manning, have been unsuccessful.
This won’t be the first time the police have tried to close the club, which is known for its “scantily clad” women dancing on the bar, Sauschuck said.
The city denied Cactus Club’s license renewal two years ago, but the Maine Supreme Judicial Court reinstated the license. The court said Portland took too long to make its decision.
This time, the decision has been delayed several times by requests from the Cactus Club for more time. The club had asked at the council meeting last Monday for a delay until February, but the council went along with a city staff recommendation to delay only until the second meeting in January.
Sauschuck said police will tell the council about calls for service to the bar and go over reports of breaches of the peace in the immediate vicinity.
He said police are only allowed to review issues from the past year, so the incidents that contributed to the denial of a renewal in 2009 — two cases of underage drinking, and a shooting that occurred nearby — will not be considered this time.
But Sauschuck said the bar’s entertainment will come up because it causes what he called a “charged atmosphere” that contributes to the problems reported by police.
Sauschuck said police are reluctant to recommend denial of a license renewal because they recognize that the decision is putting someone out of business.
Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at:
emurphy@pressherald.com
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