Liquor Board cancels subpoenas issued to Fells Point residents
Chairman Thomas Ward orders the subpoenas canceled. Says he is trying to determine why executive secretary issued them in his name.
Above: Subpoenas summoning community members to testify at the Liquor Board about The Ritz Cabaret were a mistake, chairman says.
Subpoenas issued to more than a dozen Fells Point residents opposed to the expansion of a liquor license by a strip club were canceled today by the Baltimore Liquor Board chairman, who said he is still trying to understand how the summons came to be issued by staff under his name.
Over the weekend, 16 people were issued papers ordering them to testify before the board on Thursday.
The summons – appearing on liquor board stationery and saying that sanctions may be imposed on those who failed to testify – were paid for by lawyers representing the Ritz Cabaret, whose effort to expand its BD-7 tavern license on South Broadway has stirred community opposition.
Liquor Board Chairman Thomas Ward, whose computer-generated signature appeared on the summons, told The Brew today he was canceling all of the orders, saying, “I didn’t realize they went out.”
“I don’t know how this happened,” he said.
Ward said the board’s executive secretary Michelle Bailey-Hedgepeth informed him of the subpoenas by phone this morning, but that he was unaware that they had actually been issued and received by the community members until he was contacted by The Brew.
Typically, summons are issued to police and other public officials to attend a hearing. Becky Witt, an attorney for the Community Law Center and Booze News blogger, says she has never before heard of a resident being summoned before the board.
My Fault, says Executive Secretary
Bailey-Hedgepeth took the blame for the subpoenas, telling The Brew they were an “oversight” and “no one’s fault but mine.”
Bailey-Hedgepeth said the summons were issued at the request of the Ritz Cabaret’s attorneys, Abraham Hurdle and Melvin J. Kodenski, and “went out to people in the [case] file who opposed the expansion of the BD-7.”
Victor Corbin, president of the Fells Prospect Community Association, said he was handed a subpoena by a messenger while talking to a neighbor on Saturday.
“I think it was designed to send a chilling effect throughout the community and to residents who wish to be involved in the hearing process,” he said today.
In addition to appearing before the board, Corbin’s summons required him to “bring membership records for the last four years, including addresses for members, any and all emails associated with the expansion of the New Ritz and any parties involved, [and] all corporate organization documents” for the association.
The summons added: “Fail not to appear [sic] or you will be subject to the law in such case including that the board may petition the Circuit Court for Baltimore City to proceed by attachment against you.”
“It’s outrageous. This is a form of witness intimidation,” Corbin said.
Joanne Masopust, president of the Fells Point Community Organization, agreed. She said one of the subpoenas was sent to her home and that she had decided to refuse to cooperate. “I am extremely grateful that Judge Ward has sent the message that this behavior will not be tolerated.”
Ward Blames Ritz’s Lawyers
Ward agreed with this assessment in an interview today – and placed blame on the Ritz’s attorneys, citing Melvin Kodenski.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into him. I’ve known him for years. I’m really disturbed. These people [residents] write letters. They don’t want it [the club] expanded. They don’t like it the way it’s run now. The next thing you know, they’re getting subpoenas to appear before us.”
Ward continued, “This was all apparently done to harass them as opponents of his client. I don’t know how in his mind he [Kodenski] thought it was going to benefit his client.”
One of the subpoenas that Fells Point residents and community leaders were sent over the weekend.
Kodenski has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Hurdle, the lawyer of record, would not discuss the summons or his role in the process.
According to Bailey-Hedgepeth, “Melvin Kodenski gave me a copy of the letter used previously” for a summons and a staff member copied it, using a computer-generated signature for Chairman Ward.
The summons were then issued by the attorneys, she said. Asked their rationale for sending the summons, she replied, “Ask them. I would imagine the ability to cross examine.”
Ward said he thought Bailey-Hedgepeth called him because “she was having some doubts about what she had done.”
Board not Informed
Bailey-Hedgepeth called the summons an “administrative process” that did not involve the review or consent of the three-member liquor board. None of the board members were informed of the summons prior to its issuance, she said.
At this Thursday’s hearing, the owners of the Ritz Cabaret, Joseph Soltas and David Hitchner, seek to expand the strip club’s tavern license to an upscale steakhouse they propose to build on an empty lot at 500-02 South Broadway next to the club.
The extension is opposed by the Fells Point Community Association, Fells Prospect Community Association, Upper Fells Point Improvement Association and Butchers Hill Association.
Last Wednesday, the Fells Point Task Force, led by State Del. Pete Hammen (46th), voted to oppose the expansion of the BD-7 license and instead support the steakhouse with a B-class (beer, wine, liquor) license with a food requirement.
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FERN SHEN contributed to this article.