The Alcohol Beverage Board of St. Mary’s County (liquor board) has suspended the license of Corner Liquors in Lexington Park for 30 days and fined them $1,000 for selling drug paraphernalia to an undercover St. Mary’s County deputy. The lawyer for licensee Shambhubhai Patel told the board he would seek an injunction against the suspension in St. Mary’s County Circuit Court.
Upper Marlboro attorney Matthew Tedesco had asked the board either to stay the decision or delay the imposition to give him time to challenge the decision. “We do have a family-run business here,” he pleaded. But the board voted unanimously to impose the suspension immediately.
The board decision was the latest round in a three-month saga that started at the regular July board meeting in which Patel admitted to the charge. When it came time to impose a penalty, the board, with two members short, was left with a deadlock. Member William Cullins, III favored a suspension and then Board Vice Chairman Tom Sacks insisted on a revocation. When he wasn’t able to gain support Sacks stormed out of the meeting and subsequently resigned.
Board Chairman Moses Saldana, after Sacks left the meeting, informed Patel that he had escaped a penalty. That all changed last month When Saldana told the board that it was now his opinion that the penalty phase was held in abeyance. The board jumped on that notion and voted to order Patel back to impose the penalty he thought he had escaped.
Tedesco told the board at the Thursday meeting that it was his opinion that everything was over in July and that the board didn’t have any authority to impose a penalty.
Board Attorney Joann Wood then recited the facts of the case heard in July for the two board members who were not at that meeting, Betty Curie and Linda Palchinsky. Among the facts were that the deputy observed glass pipes and other drug paraphernalia in a display case and he was sold several items. These were the facts that the licensee agreed were true at the July hearing.
This time Palchinsky took the same position as Sacks had in July: the license should be revoked. Palchinsky, who owns and operates Linda’s Café in Lexington Park, said, “We have been trying to clean up Lexington Park. I say yank the license.”’
Curie, President Bill Clinton’s personal secretary now retired to the county, made the motion to impose the fine and suspension and Cullins seconded the motion which carried 2-1 with Palchinsky voting against. Board rules allow Saldana only to vote to break a tie. A replacement for Sacks has not been chosen by the governor.
Tedesco objected to just about everything that happened, apologetically saying he needed to preserve the record for an appeal. It now will be mostly likely up to the court to decide whether the board did follow the law.
