Selectmen To Hold 'Unusual' Liquor License Hearing for Italo American Club

Selectmen voted Aug. 23 to hold a hearing determining whether a disturbance July 6 at the Italo American Club violated its liquor license, an event so unusual there was a brief debate about who would run it.

Selectmen ultimately voted to run the hearing themselves.  A date has not yet been scheduled for the hearing.

On July 6, at 10:37 p.m., the Wellesley Police Department responded to the club at 80 Oak St. for a disturbance, according to the police log. There's no further information available in the entry. Lt. Marie Cleary, spokesperson for the department, said police could not release more details because that might influence the hearing.

During a call to the Italo American Club, an unidentified man answering the phone said the club had no comment for the press.  

Executive Director Hans Larsen also declined to comment on the disturbance. However, during the Aug. 23 selectmen's meeting, Larsen said the disturbance may have violated the liquor license issued to the club by the town. He said his office was notified by the police department about a potential violation. "It's apparent we will need to conduct a hearing," he told the board.  

Last week, Larsen noted it was the first time in his memory that a business had run afoul of the town's liquor license regulations, in effect since 2006 and revised in 2008. The situation is so unusual, in fact, that the town did not have a policy on how to conduct a liquor license review hearing. During the meeting, Larsen said some towns appoint the Town Manager or Executive Director to conduct the hearing, while in others, selectmen run the hearings themselves. He noted that Deputy Police Chief William Brooks had recommended that the board run the hearing. Larsen told the board he would run it if selectmen preferred.

"I think we have to listen to the Deputy Chief," said Selectman Barbara Searle.

"I think it's better if the board does it," agreed Town Counsel Al Robinson. He said Larsen would have to make findings of fact which the board would then need to approve. With the board holding the hearing, he said, it would be more direct. "I agree with Bill (Brooks)," Robinson concluded.

The board voted to conduct the hearing themselves. If the board finds the Italo American Club violated liquor license regulations, the club's license may be suspended, modified, or revoked.