Methuselah Slapped with Weeklong Liquor License Suspension
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Methuselah Bar and Lounge has been slapped with a weeklong liquor license suspension for the over-serving of patrons that preceded a stabbing.
The Licensing Board came to the verdict on Monday after a show-cause hearing for its annual downtown all-alcohol license was continued twice. The suspension will begin on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
The establishment has seen consequences for numerous violations in the past including COVID-19 violations, overcrowding, violence and injury outside, and underage service. Chair Thomas Campoli said he can't pretend those didn't happen over this tenure, as it would not be fair.
"I know it's not easy to have a bar in downtown Pittsfield, I think it's great that you have a bar in downtown Pittsfield, but this one comes upon the heels of a number of others," he said during a meeting broadcast by Pittsfield Community Television.
"And there been times when we've been, I think, I'm not sure lenient is the right word but we've tried to be sympathetic with your situation."
Around midnight on Friday, May 10, police responded to a reported stabbing outside of the bar at 391 North St. During the investigation that night, two detectives reported to Hill that Methuselah was over-serving patrons after they observed several parties "very intoxicated and unsteady on their feet."
While the stabbing sparked a criminal investigation from the police, the board was concerned about reports of over-serving.
Owner Yuki Cohen told The Berkshire Eagle that the injured man was served one drink during his 30-minute visit but he reportedly told the police that he had eight drinks while at the bar. It was also said that he reported having 12 drinks.
On Monday, footage showed the victim being served three shots by a bartender who previously said that he was served one drink. A 15-minute lapse followed the last shot in video surveillance coverage.
The victim has not been cooperating with police or the bar and Cohen's attorney believes that he is not credible.
"From my point of view, I would say that there is a significant credibility issue there with respect to the victim, at least inside the bar itself," Attorney William Martin said.
"Our view is the victim was the instigator of the altercation that occurred and subsequently if a person won't share any information with you, particularly if he said on a couple of different occasions, 'I'm heavily intoxicated,' and then his number comes down and he's the claimant, and he won't share, he won't even give us a sworn statement, he won't give us anything other than a demand letter that says, 'Turn this over to your insurance carrier.'"
Detective Kim Bertelli-Hunt explained that she had known the victim and a witness from that night for a long time through her former job in the schools, having worked as their DARE officer and student resource officer. Based on this assessment and their claims that they were intoxicated at the time of the incident, she is confident that they were.
That night, the officer observed that the victim was drunk, the witness was drunk (though surveillance footage shows him being served one drink) and one woman was holding up another while leaving the bar and seemed drunk.
She has a screenshot of the victim messaging Cohen that night and saying he got stabbed five times at her bar and almost died. Cohen then asked why he called the police to tell them she lied about serving him one drink that night.
"He wanted to inform that he felt that he was being intimidated by Ms. Cohen by sending that message," Bertelli-Hunt said.
Martin said Cohen has taken this "very seriously," increasing the quality and storage of her video surveillance, adding a doorman to keep an eye on the secluded bathroom in the back, and only allowing one person in the bathroom at a time.
He had previously pointed out that people could be taking other substances to affect their sobriety. Cohen also attended the mandatory seminar by the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission last week.
"I let my staff know if anything happens, first call the police and then we'll write a report for ourselves, and then I'll preserve the video at that point," she told the commission.
There was some debate amongst present board members before a verdict was reached. Kathy Amuso voted against the weeklong suspension after unsuccessfully motioning for a two-day suspension.
"This is not about the stabbing," Campoli said. "I think that Methuselah acted responsibly from the point of the altercation, and that is something."
Tags: alcohol violation, license suspension, licensing board,
