12 arrested in beating outside of 33 Restaurant

12 in tuxedos nabbed after severe beating
By O’Ryan Johnson | Saturday, August 22, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage

A dozen men in tuxedos stepped from a stretch limousine into blue Hub police cruisers early yesterday morning after they were accused of beating a 22-year-old man to the brink of death outside a South End club, authorities said.

The men, from Lynn, Malden, Revere and Philadelphia, were on Stanhope Street commemorating a friend’s funeral early yesterday morning when a fight broke out, cops said.

When police arrived about 2:30 a.m. they found the victim lying on the sidewalk with a severe head injury. He was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was near death last night.

Greg Den Herder, the owner of 33 Restaurant, said the fight happened outside his place on Columbus Avenue. He said an employee of his club called police. He declined to say if the men under arrest were inside prior to the beating.

“We are assisting Boston police with an ongoing investigation,” he said.

Jessica Villalobos, the sister of one of the men arrested, said earlier in the day her brother and his friends gathered for the funeral of a friend who died in a motorcycle crash last week in Lynn. She said the group had rented tuxedoes and a 20-person stretch Cadillac limousine for the occasion.

Investigators spoke with witnesses and the alleged attackers inside a limousine parked nearby.

Officers approached the limousine and took the men into custody. Witnesses identified the men and all were booked and jailed on charges of assault and battery with serious injury.

“Charges may be upgraded if appropriate,” Zanoli said.

The area outside 33 Restaurant and into the street is covered by several cameras, but police declined to say if the beating was captured on tape.

Anyone with information about the attack is urged to call Boston Police Homicide at (617) 343-4470, leave it anonymously at (800) 494-TIPS or text-message the word “TIP” to CRIME (27463).
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1192655