City Liquor Board

Two boys were hospitalized yesterday after they stepped into the path of a moving car in front of an Anne Arundel County elementary school, fire and police officials said. The boys, students at Brock Bridge Elementary School in Laurel, tried to cross Brock Bridge Road about 200 feet south of the crosswalk about 9 a.m. when they were struck by a Dodge Neon, police said. A 10-year-old fifth-grader was flown to Children's Hospital in Washington with serious injuries, said Lt. Frank Fennell, a county fire spokesman.

A former Baltimore bar operator, who is a paid FBI informant and an admitted arsonist, testified yesterday that he witnessed the payment of a cash bribe to the chief inspector of the city liquor board.Charles Wilhelm, who testified under immunity from prosecution for his role in the bribes, said he saw an envelope containing "a couple hundred" dollars being handed to Anthony J. Cianferano while the two were sitting at a table with friends at Kislings Tavern on Fleet Street. He said the meeting occurred shortly after he learned Cianferano was being promoted to the chief inspector's job.Wilhelm, who came under immediate attack from defense attorneys for his long criminal record, was one of two key witnesses to testify yesterday in the bribery and conspiracy trial of Cianferano and William J. Madonna Jr., a former state delegate.

State prosecutors have hit the Baltimore Liquor Board with a series of new subpoenas for licensing records of bars and liquor retailers, and the action may relate to a continuing investigation of former Sen. Larry Young.Nathan C. Irby Jr., executive secretary of the board, acknowledged yesterday that subpoenas had been issued by the office of State Prosecutor Stephen Montanarelli. He declined to provide copies.John C. Poliks, a special agent with the state prosecutor's office, served the subpoenas on the liquor board late last week.

The grand jury probing charges of corruption in Baltimore's liquor license board took lengthy testimony yesterday from three current and former top officials of the agency, including the former chairman.George Brown, who chaired the city liquor board until last year, was in the grand jury room for nearly an hour. He declined to comment as he left the courthouse shortly after 4 p.m.Also called as a witness and declining comment was Jane Schroeder, the longtime assistant executive secretary to the liquor board.

State prosecutors have hit the Baltimore Liquor Board with new subpoenas for licensing records of bars and liquor retailers, an action that might relate to a continuing probe of former Sen. Larry Young.Nathan C. Irby Jr., executive secretary of the board, acknowledged yesterday that subpoenas had been issued by the office of State Prosecutor Stephen Montanarelli. He declined to provide copies.John C. Poliks, a special agent with the state prosecutor's office, served the subpoenas on the liquor board late last week.

In another indication that a long-standing investigation is reaching a conclusion, the records of seven more licensees have been subpoenaed by a grand jury probing charges of corruption within the Baltimore City Liquor Board.The subpoena issued last week by a grand jury in Baltimore was the second in as many months stemming from an inquiry being conducted by state Prosecutor Stephen Montanarelli. Three prior subpoenas required the agency to produce licensing records for more than a dozen other establishments and the personnel records of some liquor board employees.

A former state delegate, who recently was sued by three Atlantic City casinos over a $50,000 debt, has been hired by the Maryland Lottery to improve relations with lottery agents statewide.William J. Madonna Jr., the former delegate, will be paid $46,000 a year under a personal services contract effective May 6.He was recommended for the position by Sen. Barbara A. Hoffman, a Baltimore Democrat.Earlier this year, Hoffman unsuccessfully recommended Madonna for the top administrative spot on the city liquor board.

IN BALTIMORE CITY, tavern and liquor store owners have long been important cogs in the Democratic machine. At campaign time, they give hefty contributions to the incumbents. In return, the liquor board and its inspectors -- who hold patronage jobs courtesy of sponsoring state senators -- are so chummy with well-connected bar owners that only rarely is any real penalty meted out for improprieties.Powerful state senators run the liquor board as their fiefdom and make no bones about it. They hire cronies and if they suspect disloyalty, have them fired.

Remove politics from city liquor boardThe long-running comic operetta being staged by city senators about the Baltimore City liquor board would be concluded swiftly if the appointment of three commissioners and the hiring of the executive secretary, deputy secretary and inspectors were taken out of politics and placed in civil service.This is a serious matter; decisions by the liquor board and its employees directly affect the peace, safety, and welfare of many residential communities. Thank you for your continuing coverage.

YOU COULD call it BobPAC.Well, technically, not. The Bob Ehrlich for Maryland Committee actually will not be a political action committee once it is formed, probably later this week.But it sure will function as one.It seems Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Republican from Maryland's 2nd District, is expanding his horizons by starting a state continuing campaign committee, instead of limiting himself to just the federal level.The congressman would appear to be casting an eye to the future, when he may file for a statewide office, like, say, governor.

City liquor board revokes permits of store, bar 2 The city liquor board revoked the license this week of a Park Heights store owner after finding him guilty of selling alcohol to a minor for the fourth time in three years. Jong Sub Park, owner of J&J Discount Liquors in the 5100 block of Park Heights Ave., has 180 days to sell his liquor license, according to liquor board Chairman Stephan Fogleman. Liquor board commissioners also reached an agreement with the owners of Club Mate, a Brooklyn bar that residents and police say is the site of gang activity, to sell the liquor license in the next 60 days.

The city liquor board yesterday revoked the license for Sugar Hill Tavern in the 2300 block of Druid Hill Ave., citing drug activity within the bar and a significant number of violations for underage drinking. More than a dozen police reports since July have been filed about that establishment, the liquor board said. Most of the allegations concerned drug sales between patrons, according to Stephan Fogleman, chairman of the liquor board, the state agency that regulates bars and adult entertainment venues in the city.

The city liquor board yesterday penalized two strip clubs on The Block where undercover police said dancers offered to perform sex acts in exchange for money. The 2 O'Clock Club, at 414 E. Baltimore St. was hit with a $1,200 fine and a three-day suspension of its liquor license starting Oct. 24. Another club, Lust, at 408 E. Baltimore St., was fined $500. The fines come at a time when city police and liquor board officials appear to be focusing attention on The Block, the nickname for adult bookstores and strip clubs in the 400 block of E. Baltimore St. and several side streets.

Two boys were hospitalized yesterday after they stepped into the path of a moving car in front of an Anne Arundel County elementary school, fire and police officials said. The boys, students at Brock Bridge Elementary School in Laurel, tried to cross Brock Bridge Road about 200 feet south of the crosswalk about 9 a.m. when they were struck by a Dodge Neon, police said. A 10-year-old fifth-grader was flown to Children's Hospital in Washington with serious injuries, said Lt. Frank Fennell, a county fire spokesman.

The city liquor board yesterday imposed fines on two clubs on The Block where dancers are alleged to have solicited undercover police officers for sex acts, the agency's chairman said. Stagedoor Gentlemen's Club, at 5-11 Commerce St., was fined $9,000 after allegations that three dancers solicited vice officers there Feb. 9 and March 9, said liquor board Chairman Stephan Fogleman, who presided over the hearing at City Hall. The Oasis Nite Club, 417 E. Baltimore St., was fined $2,000 because a dancer is alleged to have offered to have intercourse with a vice officer Feb. 16, Fogleman said.

Three new commissioners are poised to take over the city liquor board, a state agency that has been embroiled in controversy in recent years, including review by the state prosecutor and ouster of its executive secretary, a former state senator who battled with past commissioners. The board regulates the sale, storage and distribution of alcoholic beverages in Baltimore. Its new commissioners, Stephan Fogleman, Elizabeth C. Smith and Harvey Jones, met with Gov. Martin O'Malley before their appointments were confirmed recently by the state Senate.

Baltimore liquor board executive secretary Nathan C. Irby Jr. agreed yesterday to resign from his position as head of the state agency and collect about $40,000 in back pay and benefits rather than proceed with a potentially lengthy appeal in city Circuit Court. The settlement between Irby, a former state senator and city councilman from East Baltimore, and the liquor board was reached minutes before Irby was to challenge his March 24 termination before Circuit Judge Stuart R. Berger. "The net effect of the settlement is that Nathan Irby is no longer the executive secretary of the liquor board," said Gerald Langbaum, an assistant attorney general who represents the city liquor board in legal matters.

The battle for control of the city liquor board escalated yesterday when the board suspended the agency's executive secretary and Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. took action to prevent Baltimore legislators from ousting board members. Nathan C. Irby Jr., the head of the state agency, was suspended by the board -- pending further action -- and replaced by Samuel T. Daniels Jr., the chief liquor inspector. The suspension is the climax of infighting between board member Edward Smith Jr., who pushed for Irby's removal, and a group of city senators who support Irby.

The owners of Larry Flynt's Hustler Club were fined $525 by the city liquor board yesterday for violating the prohibition on sexual touching. Owner Jason C. Mohney was facing four charges of violating the city's adult entertainment rules, and the Board of Liquor License Commissioners found him guilty of two. It also reduced his fines by $400. "I realistically thought we would be found not guilty of everything," said Mohney's attorney, Peter Prevas, adding that he was considering an appeal.

Ignoring longstanding political custom and riling some Baltimore City senators, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has apparently decided to reappoint the chairman of the city liquor board, but toss out a longtime politically connected member of the same panel. In a series of phone calls made late last week, aides to Ehrlich informed city legislators and the appointees that Leonard R. Skolnik would be reappointed as chairman of the liquor board, while William A. "Pete" Welch would not return. Replacing Welch will be Mark Fosler, a veteran investigator and neighborhood relations specialist for the city's Community Relations Commission.