Work Set For Area Roads 
The Pennsylvania Department Of Transportation Plans The Following Road Work 
This Week.

Airport Gets $200,000 Grant For Road Work

By DAWN SHURMAITIS and MARIA KOCHIS; Times Leader Staff
Writers
 Saturday, December 17, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





WILKES-BARRE -- About two dozen law enforcement officers descended on
Market Street Square late Thursday in response to what the district attorney
calls "significant, violent felonies which occurred on or about the premises." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The state police Bureau of Liquor Code Enforcement joined eight county
detectives, city police, Luzerne County District Attorney Peter Paul Olszewski
Jr. and several of his assistants during the raid. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Law enforcement and I consider that complex to be a dangerous place for
young people," said Olszewski, adding police have received more than 100 calls
to the nightclub in the last year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The parents and young people of this area should guide themselves
accordingly," Olszewski said. He stopped short of telling people to avoid the
club. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Owner Thom Greco, a city businessman and concert promoter, called the
action "harassment" and said his business has been targeted unfairly by the
Liquor Code Enforcement bureau. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Not a month goes by that they're not there, that they're not harassing
us," Greco said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Olszewski said several agencies are continuing to look at "all aspects of
the operation," but he refused to elaborate on the statement. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Bureau of Liquor Code Enforcement Sgt. David Dougalas said 11 officers from
his department participated in the 11:15 p.m. raid. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Market Street Square will be cited for four separate counts of liquor code
violations, Dougalas said. The penalty for each count can range from a fine of
$50,000 to $100,000, a suspension of the liquor license or a combination of
both. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The bar will be cited with one count of serving drinks to visibly
intoxicated patrons, one count of happy hour violations, one count of
insufficient chaperones while running an under-21 club, and one count of using
a hotel liquor license without offering any accommodations such as rooms,
Dougalas said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The bureau received a complaint Thursday night about minors allegedly
drinking in the bar area, Dougalas said. The agency conducted what he called
an "open inspection" for minors, but didn't find anyone underage who was
served alcohol. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The armed officers closed the doors, secured the exits, turned on the
lights and stopped the band. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Three weeks ago city police dressed in riot gear responded to a call at the
bar and conducted a similar operation, Olszewski said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The club has been the site of a string of incidents involving patrons in
recent months. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In November, a fight that began at the complex escalated into a shooting at
a city convenience store. The incident involved about 20 young people from the
Allentown area. They were at the BeBop Cafe on a night designated for patrons
under 21. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The attorneys are looking at the entire thing wrong," Greco said. "The
important thing is that we were responsible and we protected all of our
customers inside Market Street. Because of our security measures that incident
was prevented from happening (at Market Street Square)." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A Scranton man was convicted of slashing another man's neck inside the club
in March. A female patron told police she was raped and robbed just outside
the business in June. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Other assaults involving patrons have occurred in and around the club
during the past two years, including a multiple stabbing in the summer of
1993. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The club has since taken numerous security measures. It hired security
guards and off-duty police officers and installed metal detectors. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Greco said the club, which has been open since 1988, has served 900,000
people and has had only three incidents, either inside or outside, which would
be considered bad. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I would like to match my record against any other nightclub owner in town
based on the amount of business I do versus the amount of incidents," Greco
said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He said law enforcement officials found neither drugs nor weapons. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I hope this raid vindicates us that they can bring in all these state
agencies and we were doing nothing else," he said. "Now they're stuck with egg
on their faces. Now they have to explain why they did it." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dougalas said the bar was charged twice previously for operating with a
hotel liquor license without maintaining hotel rooms. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In early November, the bar was cited for refilling liquor bottles,
contaminated liquor bottles and mislabeling taps. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Greco said his hotel was closed because of an electrical fire during the
Labor Day weekend, and that he was told Friday the city is going to allow him
to re-open soon. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Why don't they ask questions instead of giving us citations?" Greco asked. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kim Randolph, Greco's secretary, said the BeBop Cafe caters to local
college crowds on Thursday nights. Minors are allowed by the liquor
enforcement bureau to frequent that part of the nightclub only on Thursdays. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 People who are over 21 can enter the cafe, but people who are underage are
prohibited from walking into the bar. Randolph said someone stands at the door
that divides the two rooms and checks a fluorescent stamp. The two age groups
have different kinds of stamps. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As an extra security measure, two off-duty police officers were hired to
patrol the parking lot on Thursdays, Randolph said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Bar Raid Tops String Of Trouble, Da Says 
Distict Attorney Warns Of Danger To Young Patrons 
Of The Complex, Where Police Were Called More 
Than 100 Times This Year

Bar Raid Tops String Of Trouble, Da Says Distict Attorney Warns Of Danger To Young Patrons Of The Complex, Where Police Were Called More Than 100 Times This Year