OFF THE WIRE
RANDY RICHMOND
lfpress.com
(QMI Agency file photo)
BATTLING BIKERS: Booze watchdog derails bid to hit outlaw gangs in the cash register..
Ontario's effort to bring down outlaw bikers with a bit of bureaucracy has been derailed - by the same bureaucracy.In a test case, a two-member board of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) rejected the arguments from the commission's own registrar and the top biker cop in the province and sided instead with a leading member of the Hells Angels motorcycle club.
Even though the Hells Angels is a criminal organization, and even though Rob Barletta, a former London chapter president and current member, must follow the gang's rules, he has the right to a liquor licence for his strip club, Famous Flesh Gordon's, the board ruled.
"The board was presented with no evidence to doubt that Mr. Barletta has submitted all required taxes and documentation, maintained a lawful establishment, conducted business with honesty and integrity and fulfilled all the obligations of a licensee," the board ruled.
The AGCO registrar was trying to use a combination of a relatively new Supreme Court ruling and Ontario's Liquor Licence Act to hit bikers where they hurt -- in the cash registers of their bars.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2010 the Hells Angels are a criminal organization.
The Liquor Licence Act bars anyone getting a licence if their "past or present conduct" suggests they won't carry on business with "integrity and honesty."
The AGCO registrar argued Barletta could not conduct his business with honesty and integrity while being a member of a criminal organization.
The registrar backed up its evidence with testimony from Det. Sgt. Len Isnor, head of of the OPP biker enforcement unit, that as Hells Angels leader, Barletta must have "a good criminal network" and be "prepared to resort to violence."
But Barletta has no criminal record and there has been no evidence of violence or criminal activity at his bar, the board heard.
The board agreed Barletta probably knew about criminal activities of his fellow gang members.
But many people know about friends or family member's illegal acts and keep their own counsel, the board ruled.
"In other words, this kind of behaviour alone is insufficient to indict one's integrity," the board said.
The hearing for Famous Flesh Gordon's concluded in spring and the decision was released last Thursday.
After this case, the AGCO was going to go after the Beef Baron strip club in London, owned by a Barletta family member.
That hearing is on hold until the AGCO registrar reviews the Famous Flesh Gordon decision and considers an appeal, said an ACGO spokesperson.