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| NEWS > 05 August 2006 |
Other related articles:
Labor would split police watch
THE controversial supervisory role of Victoria Police would be dramatically reshaped by a re-elected Bracks Government, with the state's top watchdog bodies split.
A senior Government source has told The Sunday Age that the controversial dual role of Director of Police Integrity and ombudsman would be separated soon after the election if Labor won. The aim of the split would be to create a simpler complaints and supervision hierarchy for the state's police force.
According to the source, the ombudsman's office would regain its overall supervisory and appeals role, includi... Read more
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 Article sourced from
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Worcester Telegram (subscripti
05 August 2006
This article appeared in the above title/site.
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Club files suit against police
FITCHBURG— Trouble has found Karma Night Club, a downtown hip-hop club.
Manager Cynthia Allaire is calling for a full investigation into the activities of the Police Department, alleging police filed a false report that accuses bar employees of concealing evidence after a big fight at the bar at 16 Putnam St. last weekend. The owners of the club also are pursuing civil action against the Police Department.
Ms. Allaire said yesterday she called police after a brawl broke out in the parking lot July 29, shortly after the bar closed, but the fight was broken up before police arrived. Police did not arrest anyone at the time.
“Then the investigating officer came into the place, stood next to the door for a few seconds and shouted, ‘There was blood on the floor, and you guys mopped it up. You guys are finished,’ ” Ms. Allaire said.
She said the officer, whom she identified as Officer Matthew Lemay, left immediately after issuing the statements. He did not give the club a citation, although he accused them of concealing evidence, she said.Ms. Allaire said Detective James M. Gilbert came to the club after the incident and referred to a signed police report that stated the fight occurred inside the club and that the responding officer was told by an informant that “large amounts of blood on the dance floor” had been cleaned up before police arrived and that a woman had been struck with a bottle inside the club.
Ms. Allaire said she asked Detective Gilbert to give her a copy of the report written by Officer Lemay, but he refused. Earlier this week, he refused to comment on her request for the report. He was not available for comment yesterday. The Telegram & Gazette requested a copy of the report from the Police Department yesterday.
“These are false claims,” Ms. Allaire wrote in a letter dated Aug. 2 to the state attorney general’s Public Corruption Unit, the Fitchburg License Commission, Police Chief Edward Cronin, and Mayor Dan H. Mylott.
“At no time did this officer go within 15 feet of my dance floor to make the findings that he did. He never asked any questions,” Ms. Allaire wrote, adding, “He clearly made a statement and left.”
Ms. Allaire said Detective Gilbert watched four hours of video footage of the bar’s interior that night and even conducted a “ketchup test” to determine if a quarter-size amount of blood could be observed by the club’s 15 high-definition cameras. The Telegram & Gazette also has seen footage of the time in question.
She said, “Apparently, the officer (making the accusation) did not realize we had him on tape. He thought he could get away with it.”
Chief Cronin said last night police did not find anyone fighting when they arrived at the bar July 29. No one was arrested, and police are still investigating the incident.
As for the allegedly falsified police report, Chief Cronin said, “I’m not sure if the video is exclusive to all of the allegations.”
He said there is no cause for an internal investigation at this point of Officer Lemay’s report. He added that he was “skeptical of the contents of the letter” that Ms. Allaire sent to him.
City Councilor Ted E. DeSalvatore said he has viewed the videotapes for the time when the alleged bloody incident took place.
“The tape shows no blood in the floor,” Mr. DeSalvatore said as he stood outside the establishment yesterday. “I don’t have the power to call for an internal investigation, but my hope is the powers that be would scrutinize any discrepancy with appropriate action.”
The hip-hop club opened last August with the owner of record listed as Andrew I. Rome, the former owner of the House of Brews and a former Shirley police officer. After impressing the licensing board and police with plans for an upscale bar with technologically advanced security, Mr. Rome transferred ownership to Michele Fife and Gale Delage, both of Southbridge, doing business as Nu Nu Inc.
“I didn’t want to be associated with it anymore because of the way it was going,” he said Wednesday.
Scott Gibeault, the brother of Ms. Fife, said he has been “helping out” at the bar to train Ms. Allaire. According to court records, Mr. Gibeault was connected to Central District Court probation officer Patrick A. Bonaventura, who was found guilty of operating a bad check ring and witness tampering. On Dec. 6, 2000, Mr. Gibeault entered into an agreement with the U.S. attorney’s office in Massachusetts granting him immunity in the case in which he admitted to writing more than $175,000 in fraudulent checks from August 1997 to August 2000. He in turn was expected to cooperate in a continuing investigation.
Ms. Allaire referred to a series of certified letters in which the bar requested paid off-duty police details, but those requests were denied.
Chief Cronin said the requests were denied because of Mr. Gibeault’s past.
“Yes. It concerns me that our officers would be in that situation with a known criminal. I’m always concerned about issues of integrity,” he said.
“They’ve gone into full-scale damage control,” Mr. Gibeault said in response to the chief’s comments about his past being a factor in rejecting paid off-duty detail at the Karma Night Club.
Chief Cronin said he does not like the idea of police officers working off-duty paid detail in bars and clubs and is considering changing the department’s policy on the issue.
“We are not there to baby-sit. The club is a high-risk environment because of the young inexperienced drinkers,” the chief said.
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