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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A federal appeals court ruling breathed new life into a suit alleging race played a role in the 2009 closing of The Mines nightclub located across from King&#8217;s College.</p><p>A three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal placed the suit brought by businessman Thom Greco in 2011 against Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County and school officials back in play.</p><p>The ruling filed Aug. 26 reinstated most of what U.S. District Court Judge A. Richard Caputo threw out last year when he rejected Greco&#8217;s claim the bar was closed because most of its patrons were black and Hispanic. Greco&#8217;s appealed Caputo&#8217;s decision to the 3rd Circuit.</p><p>There was no dispute that the club&#8217;s clientele had a higher minority makeup of neighboring bars and the area had a high crime rate, the appeals court said.</p><p>But the disagreement on whether the higher police presence in the area was due to the crime rate or the bar&#8217;s clientele, factored into the appeals court&#8217;s decision.</p><p>&#8220;Because there is enough evidence for a reasonable jury to infer discriminatory intent, we will vacate and remand in part and affirm in part,&#8221; the decision read.</p><p>Greco declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.</p><p>Four counts dealing with alleged violations the 14th Amendment&#8217;s guarantee of due process and equal protection under the law were reactivated and sent back to the trial judge in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>Among the points raised by the appeals court was the Hardware Bar downtown not only served a smaller percentage of minority patrons than The Mines, but also had more police responses, including one for the assault of an officer that rendered her unconscious with a traumatic head injury. But police maintained a higher presence around The Mines.</p><p>Furthermore, after a fight outside The Mines on March 27, 2009 &#8212; the number involved ranged from 50 by Greco&#8217;s count to approximately 200 reported by police &#8212; the college held a forum to address campus safety. City officials were invited, but Greco&#8217;s request to attend was denied.</p><p>On April 30, 2009 police followed up with saturation patrols involving multiple law enforcement agencies around The Mines. But Greco said he checked on neighboring bars and found The Mines was singled out. As a result of the increased police presence in the area, The Mines closed, the appeals court noted.</p><p>Explaining why it vacated the judge&#8217;s ruling on summary judgment for lack of a case, the appeals court said there is evidence police concentrated their presence around The Mines because of the race of its clientele.</p><p>&#8220;Specifically, the City Defendants&#8217; statements &#8212; &#8216;you&#8217;ve got the wrong kind of crowd&#8217; and &#8216;we don&#8217;t want these kind of people in our town,&#8217; referring to &#8216;black people, Hispanic people&#8217; &#8212; give rise to an inference of discriminatory intent,&#8221; the appeals court said.</p><p>Evidence also showed the school &#8220;conspired with the City Defendants to shut down The Mines because of the race of its patrons,&#8221; the appeals court said.</p><p>But there was no evidence that county was involved beyond the assistance provided by the Sheriff&#8217;s Department during a saturation patrol, the appeals court said, dismissing it from the suit.</p><p>The appeals court affirmed Caputo&#8217;s dismissal of two counts in Greco&#8217;s suit. The judge found no basis to proceed with Greco&#8217;s allegation that the denial of his request to extend the Keystone Opportunity Zone designation to his properties coincided with increased police presence around The Mines. The judge also dropped Greco&#8217;s claim of selective prosecution in which he alleged city officials influenced an FBI agent to &#8220;manipulate&#8221; him so that he was vulnerable to be charged with a federal crime.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Greco </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_thom_greco.jpg</photo0><caption0>Greco </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Panel alleges race played role in closing bar</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Federal appeals court reopens The Mines suit alleging race played role in closing bar