Club staff say they warned victim of beating

Club staff say they warned victim
Owner asks to reopen after deadly assault
By John Ellement, Maria Cramer, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff | August 26, 2009

Jose Alicea refused to back down, standing steadfast with a friend outside a Back Bay nightclub last week, surrounded by a dozen irate men. Everyone had just left 33 Restaurant & Lounge, and the nightclub’s staff urged Alicea and his friend to walk away in the face of overwhelming danger, according to testimony yesterday at City Hall.

“They weren’t having it,’’ said Brian Jacobs, director of security for the nightclub, in testimony before the Boston Licensing Board. “They were standing their ground.’’

The 12 men Alicea faced down were all members of a violent street gang, according to three Boston officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak about the investigation. The group, many of whom wore matching black tuxedos with red vests, had come from the funeral of another member of their gang, according to the officials.

Moments later Alicea lay unconscious and bleeding on Columbus Avenue with a massive head injury that would cost the 22-year-old Hyde Park man his life. The 12 men have pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from his savage beating and death.

Yesterday at City Hall, Jacobs and several witnesses testified under oath as the owners of the nightclub asked city regulators to allow them to reopen their doors.

Two city regulators, the Boston Licensing Board and the Mayor’s Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing, took the reopening request under advisement. The Licensing Board is scheduled to vote on the measure today.

Thursday is Latin Night at 33 Restaurant & Lounge, and Alicea was described by bar staff as a regular. The owner, Greg F. Den Herder, testified that about 30 people, some wearing matching tuxedos, arrived in two limousines between 11 and 11:30 p.m. Thursday. Staff eventually learned that the men and at least two women were wearing the tuxedos with red accents because it was the same outfit their friend was buried in.

“It was a very nice night,’’ Herder said. “They were very peaceful people, relaxing, enjoying their friends.’’

Police and bar staff testified that the violence broke out at 2:25 a.m. Friday. The attack took place down the block from 33 Restaurant & Lounge, near the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Cahners Place, witnesses said.

The incident began when Alicea tried to ask for a cigarette from the men. An argument ensued, and someone threw a bottle that hit Alicea in the head, and he was allegedly attacked.

Bar staff testified that they called 911 and alerted arriving police that the suspects were sitting inside a limousine. Police surrounded the limousine and kept everyone inside while witnesses identified the alleged participants in the beating.

Sergeant Detective Daniel Keeler testified, however, that security at the nightclub should have known that the suspects might have been in a gang because so many of them were dressed the same. The tuxedos with red accents should have been a warning to the nightclub of the potential for trouble, he said.

“To suggest that these people were part of a wedding party - I find it absurd,’’ Keeler told the board. “There has to be a level of responsibility here by the licensee.’’

Herder said the bar staff is used to seeing people dressed in tuxedos, and wedding parties.

Over the objections of an attorney for the nightclub’s owner, Keeler also told the board about another conflict that involved patrons from 33 Restaurant & Lounge. Two weeks ago an argument that began inside the club spilled outside, Keeler said. Shots were fired.

Police arrested a suspect, who had a Glock handgun stolen from the Boston Police Department in 1995, Keeler testified. That suspect was also a known gang member, Keeler said.

The attorney for the nightclub, Stephen Miller, repeatedly insisted that Keeler was blaming 33 Restaurant & Lounge for an incident that was the responsibility of another Boston nightclub.

Some of the defendants from Friday’s beating were in the process yesterday of having new attorneys assigned to them or hiring their own lawyers. The lawyers who could be reached denied their clients were connected to a street gang or to Alicea’s death.

Steven Kim, the Brookline attorney representing Miguel Flaquer, said the significance of the tuxedos has been misunderstood.

“I think that’s pretty ridiculous and ludicrous,’’ Kim said of linking the color of the tuxedos to gang affiliation. “They were all pallbearers from a funeral, which is why the were all in black tuxedos with red ties and a vest. It was the exact same clothing, the color, that their dead friend was buried in. It had nothing to do with gang affiliation whatsoever.’’

Boston attorney Michael Laurano, who was appointed to represent Ramon Lavona, who is also known as Frank Martinez, said his client is adamant he was not involved in Alicea’s death. Laurano said Lavona was not wearing a tuxedo and had no marks on his hands or chest that would suggest he participated in a beating.

Lynn residents also facing charges are: Ramona Berroa, 28; Justin Cooke, 25; Michael Welch, 27; Ruskyn Garcia, 25; Jonathan Fernandez, 23; Johan Garcia, 28; Jose Castros, 22; Jorge Encarnacion, 26; Jason Benalfew, 26. Anthony Villaobos, 21, of Revere was also charged.



© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company