WESTFIELD – The owner of a now-shuttered Elm Street bar is facing criminal charges stemming from one of the incidents which led to the revocation of the bar’s liquor license in May.
At the end of May, the city’s license commission staged a lengthy special meeting to consider complaints about Tommy D’s Courtyard Pub and its owner, Gaetano A. ‘Tommy’ Denardo, and took the unusual step of permanently revoking the bar’s license.
One of the complaints involved an incident in March, 2013, in which a smoke alarm in the bar was activated prompting a response by police and firefighters.
The emergency responders found that a party was underway and the bar was largely occupied by members of a motorcycle club who were reportedly celebrating the birthday of one of their members.
When firefighters responded to the smoke alarm the bar owner, Denardo, reported that an unknown party had ignited a smoke bomb in a rest room and fled the bar without being identified.
However, police and fire investigators found that the smoke was noticeably thicker in the area of the dance floor and much less apparent in the area of the rest room.
In addition, police reported that the customers in the bar were not cooperative and made access to the dance floor difficult, obstructing the officers’ movement and getting out of the way slowly and reluctantly.
Although Denardo said at the time that the smoke came from the unknown patron with a smoke bomb, video later posted on a social networking website showed a motorcyclist had braced the front wheel of his machine against the stage and raced the engine causing the rear wheel to spin on the dance floor and make the rubber tire burn.
It was that smoke which apparently triggered the smoke alarm.
The incident was investigated by officers led by Sgt. Eric hall, the commander of the community policing team, and on May 15 Hall filed a criminal complaint at Westfield District Court seeking charges of making a false police report, obstruction of justice and disorderly conduct against Denardo.
In a statement filed with the court, Hall alleges that Denardo falsely reported that someone had lit a smoke bomb in the bathroom and then “continued to mislead the officer.”
Hall alleges that no smoke bomb had been ignited but rather “Mr. Denardo allowed a customer to bring a motorcycle into the bar” and the resulting smoke and exhaust from the motorcycle, “created an extremely dangerous and hazardous condition inside the bar which served no legitimate purpose.”
Denardo, 54, of 281 Buck Pond Road, appeared before Judge Philip A. Contant Aug. 9 and was arraigned for making a false police report and disorderly conduct.
The possible penalty upon conviction of a charge of making a false police report is imprisonment for no more than a year and/or a fine of at least $100 and no more than $500.
The court did not pursue an obstruction of justice charge but Denardo was also arraigned for disturbing the peace.
Contant ordered that Denardo make no threats or violence toward a specific police officer when he released the defendant on his personal recognizance pending a Sept. 25 pre-trial hearing.
