Nov 24, 2009 11:21 pm US/Eastern
I-Team: Local Bars Over Serving Customers
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
They're local bars that allow drunk drivers to get on the road. The I-Team has obtained this year's list of the worst offenders from the state.
Chief Correspondent Joe Shortsleeve went along as alcohol investigators cracked down on bars that continue to serve drinks to drunks.
ONE SCENARIO
It' was almost 2 a.m. on Saturday morning. State alcohol investigators along with Worcester police were putting a very drunk woman in the back of a cab.
Minutes earlier, the I-Team's undercover camera and investigators were there as she climbed onto the bar and began stripping. The bartenders, rather than stop her, simply continued to serve drinks.
The night spot, McGuire's Lounge in Worcester, has been under surveillance by alcohol investigators.
The reason: About three years ago, two young people died in an alcohol related crash after leaving that bar. The bar lost its liquor license for seven days. The bar owner admitted to the I-Team the same bartender was working this past Saturday morning.
ALCOHOL INVESTIGATORS ON SCENE
Ted Mahoney is one of the alcohol investigators who was on the scene.
"Quite frankly some bars don't care. Some are just looking at the bottom line and making money anyway they can on any given night and those bars need to be hit hard."
The owner of the Worcester bar tells the I-Team that the woman who was stripping only had "two drinks" and that they were shocked by her behavior. With regards to his bartender, John Tarashuck defended him saying he is "very good".
It is just one example in many.
For that reason, alcohol investigators visit bars all over the state. They look for bars blatantly breaking the law by over- serving drunken patrons.
The goal of these undercover sting operations is clear. Keep the drunks from getting into their cars and killing or injuring someone and at the same time, hold the bar tenders and bar owners responsible for every drink they serve.
WHICH BARS ARE THE WORST?
According to a list obtained by the I-Team from the state, The Thirsty Whale in Newburyport has allowed 28 convicted drunk drivers on the road in the past 22 months. It is by far the worst record in eastern Massachusetts.
List of bars most often named in court (.pdf)
2007 traffic fatalities in alcohol-impaired crashes (.pdf)
This one lists bars that have most often been named in court as the last stop of a convicted drunk driver.
Waxy O'Connor's in Foxboro is now the second worst offender in the Boston area. The bar has been connected to 8 drunken driving arrests so far in 2009, compared to "0" last year.
And Bostonville, which sits on busy Route One in Lynnfield according to the courts allowed 7 drunk drivers out on to the roadways.
We called the bar owners in Newburyport, Lynnfield and Foxboro and none of them returned our calls.
WHAT CAN THE STATE DO?
State Treasurer Tim Cahill oversees enforcement of the state's liquor laws. His investigators cited the Worcester bar for serving an intoxicated person.
Shortsleeve asked, "with regards to the striptease…what is your reaction to a bar that allows something like that to go on?
Cahill responded "it probably should be closed down to be honest with you. I don't know if that is going to be the end result. They will have a hearing, but that is a pretty frightening scenario."
Alcohol investigators believe the woman stripping on the bar in Worcester was minutes away from getting behind the wheel of her car.
How do investigators know which bars are violating the law?
Every time a convicted drunk driver names a bar as their last stop that particular bar gets a letter from the court.
Technically that is not a violation of the state liquor laws. ABCC investigators have to actually witness someone being "over served" before it is a violation.
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