00001 1 2 CITY OF MILWAUKEE 3 LICENSES COMMITTEE 4 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 5 In the Matter of the Class "B" Tavern and Tavern 6 Amusement (Cabaret/Nite Club) renewal application for: 7 TERRY J. CULLEN 8 Executor for "Estate of Thomas Michels" "Tommys Club 76" 9 4730 Norty 76th Street 10 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 11 COMMITTEE MEMBERS 12 ALD. JAMES WITKOWIAK - Chair ALD. JAMES BOHL, JR., - Vice-Chairman 13 ALD. TERRY WITKOWSKI ALD. ROBERT PUENTE 14 ALD. WILLIE WADE 15 LICENSING DIVISION by REBECCA BARRON NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES by PANDORA BENDER 16 HEALTH DEPARTMENT by PAUL ZEMKE POLICE DEPARTMENT by SEARGENT CHET ULICKEY 17 OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY by ATTORNEY BRUCE SCHRIMPF 18 19 Proceedings had and testimony given in 20 the above-entitled matter, before the LICENSES 21 COMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF MILWAUKEE, on 22 the 5th day of June, 2007. 23 24 * * * * * 00002 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 (Whereupon all necessary persons have 3 been previously duly sworn.) 4 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Next item is in 5 the 2nd District, Thomas Michels, a Class "B" 6 Tavern and Tavern Amusement (Cabaret/Night Club) 7 renewal applications for "Tommy's Club 76" at 8 4730 North 76th Street. This is the same 9 applicant as the previous license, represented by 10 the same counselor, and this is in Alderman 11 Davis' district, who is here with us. Could we 12 swear Alderman Davis in, please? 13 (Whereupon Alderman Davis was sworn.) 14 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Health Department? 15 HEALTH: Health has no objection. 16 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Neighborhood 17 Services? 18 DNS: No objection, and the capacity is 19 80. 20 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: And I will ask Mr. 21 Cullen again, if he received the notice 22 containing the police objection and neighborhood 23 objections to - - I mean, the police report and 24 neighborhood objections, loitering, littering, 25 loud music, et cetera. 00003 1 THE APPLICANT: Yes, I did. 2 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Sergeant, could we 3 hear the police report on this one, please? 4 SERGEANT ULICKEY: On 8/17/05, one 5 a.m., Milwaukee police were flagged down at 4730 6 North 76th by a subject who stated he was robbed. 7 Victim stated three unknown males robbed him in 8 the parking lot of Tommy's. A license premise 9 check was also conducted and found to have no 10 violations. 11 On 11/6 of '05 at 11:42 p.m. Milwaukee 12 police were dispatched to Tommy's, 4730 North 13 76th Street for a stabbing complaint. 14 Investigation revealed that a patron inside the 15 nightclub had become disorderly and was being 16 escorted out of the club. The patron then pulled 17 out a pocket knife and stabbed one victim in the 18 chest and abdomen, and stabbed the other victim 19 in the left hand. Victim number one required 20 surgery for his injuries. 21 On 12/30 of '05 at one a.m. Milwaukee 22 police were dispatched regarding a recklessly 23 endangering safety complaint that occurred in 24 front - - in the street in front of Tommy's, 4730 25 North 76th. Investigation revealed that the 00004 1 victim was intentionally run over by a motor 2 vehicle. The victim suffered a broken toe and 3 other leg injuries. The suspect who ran over the 4 victim was seen earlier talking with the victim 5 just outside the tavern prior to this incident. 6 On 1/28 of '06 at 3:23 a.m. Milwaukee 7 police were dispatched to 4730 North 76th Street 8 regarding a battery complaint. Officer spoke to 9 the victim who was employed by Tommy's and stated 10 that her ex-boyfriend came to the location and 11 broke all the windows out of her vehicle that was 12 parked in the parking lot. The victim stated she 13 tried to stop him, but he then punched her in the 14 face with a closed fist. A DV battery report was 15 filed. 16 On 1/29 of '06 at 2:19 a.m. Milwaukee 17 police were dispatched to Tommy's, 4730 North 18 76th Street for an armed robbery complaint that 19 occurred in the parking lot. Officer spoke to 20 the victim who stated an unknown actor displayed 21 a handgun and then struck him in the face causing 22 a laceration to the victim's right eyebrow. 23 Suspect then obtained various items from the 24 victim and fled the scene. Officers were able to 25 - - or unable to speak with the licensee of 00005 1 Tommy's due to the fact the tavern was closed 2 when this incident occurred. 3 On 2/6 of '06 at 1:42 a.m. Milwaukee 4 police were dispatched to 4730 North 76th Street 5 for an armed robbery complaint. Investigation 6 revealed that a security guard was checking the 7 parking lot after closing when a subject 8 approached him and pointed a chrome handgun, and 9 repeated told the security guard, "Don't move." 10 The security guard ran back to the tavern, was 11 able to close the door before the suspect gained 12 entry. Nothing was obtained. 13 On 10/9 of '06 at 1:12 a.m. Milwaukee 14 police were dispatched to Tommy's, 4730 North 15 76th Street, for an entry to autos complaint. 16 Officer spoke to the night manager, security 17 guard, Don Bark, who stated he was outside by the 18 front door of Tommy's when he heard glass 19 breaking. Bark stated that he believed it was 20 coming from the south side of the parking lot. 21 He stated he observed a parked car with a broken 22 window and saw a male subject running east 23 towards the alley. He then called for police. 24 Officers were unable to locate the driver/owner 25 of the car. 00006 1 On 12/3 of '06 at 12:48 Milwaukee 2 police were dispatched to 4730 North 76th Street 3 for a shooting. Investigation revealed that a 4 shooting had occurred in front of Tommy's after 5 the victim had argued with an unknown suspect 6 inside the bar. The victim was treated for a 7 gunshot wound to his left thigh. 8 On 12/1 of '07 at 1:17 Milwaukee police 9 were dispatched to 4730 North 76th Street to 10 check for a possible shooting scene. Upon 11 officers arrival the tavern appeared to be closed 12 and the door was locked. Officers checked the 13 area. Did not locate a scene. Officers spoke to 14 Don Bark who stated he was employed at Tommy's. 15 Stated a fight broke out by the exit door, and 16 that he heard one shot fired. Bark stated he 17 didn't call police because there was so much 18 commotion going on. Another employee on the 19 scene, identified as Thomas Beringer, was holding 20 a casing wrapped in a napkin that he found on the 21 floor inside the tavern. Also recovered another 22 - - Or officers also recovered another casing 23 inside the tavern. A check of all licenses 24 revealed they were current and properly 25 displayed. 00007 1 On 2/3 of '07 at 1:30 a.m. Milwaukee 2 police conducted a tavern check at Tommy's, 4730 3 North 76th Street. While officers were 4 conducting the tavern check a patron attempted to 5 make his way out the back door upon observing 6 officers. He was stopped, and an investigation 7 revealed the subject to be in possession of large 8 amounts of marijuana. This patron was arrested 9 and charged with possession of a controlled 10 substance, and four arrests were made for patrons 11 who had outstanding warrants. 12 2/12 of '07 at 1:24 a.m. Milwaukee 13 police were dispatched to Tommy's, 4730 North 14 76th Street, for a shots fired complaint. 15 Investigation revealed shots were fired in front 16 of the tavern with officers recovering six 17 shotgun shells that were lying in front of the 18 tavern. Front windows of the club had been shot 19 out, and officers were advised there were no 20 injuries. No one inside the club was able to 21 relay any information regarding the shots fired. 22 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Thank you. Thank 23 you, Sergeant. Any questions of the police 24 report? 25 ALDERMAN BOHL: Mr. Chairman. 00008 1 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Alderman Bohl. 2 ALDERMAN BOHL: I have a question for 3 Mr. Schrimpf, and it is relating to the fact that 4 there were items that were read in the police 5 report dating back to 8/17 of 2005, and I think 6 up through - - So that would be item nine up on 7 through, perhaps, item 14 in our police reports, 8 date back to times that were not in the last 9 licensed year. And I wonder what input the City 10 Attorney, that it indicates that these items were 11 not previously reported, but the fact is is that 12 the license was renewed during those times, and 13 whether it may be problematic, given the fact 14 that we are one or two years removed from the 15 license years in which those events occurred. 16 MR. SCHRIMPF: Yeah, Mr. Chairman, I 17 was aware of the August 17th one that Alderman 18 Bohl reveals. And now as I'm checking, I see 19 items ten and 11 go back to '05, as well. And 20 you do have a problem, quite frankly, because it 21 was not reported in the - - in the license year, 22 as I understand it was renewed in '05. 23 ALDERMAN BOHL: Well, even in - - I 24 mean, we're - - we're right now in - - 25 ALDERMAN PUENTE: '07. 00009 1 MR. SCHRIMPF: '07. 2 ALDERMAN BOHL: In '07. Even the items 3 number 12, 13 and 14 fall in early '06, wouldn't 4 be within the last year. 5 MR. SCHRIMPF: Right. 6 ALDERMAN BOHL: I just wonder how that 7 should be handled, from your perspective. 8 MR. SCHRIMPF: Well, if you're asking 9 me, could it be a problem, and, yes, it could be 10 a problem, if discipline were taken on it and it 11 were challenged. There - - The only argument 12 that you'd have is that it wasn't previously 13 reported, and you'd have to make an argument that 14 the conduct that's reflected in those items 15 appears to be conduct that has continued on into 16 2007. They generally involve shootings and 17 violence that has affected people at the place. 18 ALDERMAN BOHL: So not seeing - - Are 19 you saying, Mr. Schrimpf, that the - - the items 20 cannot be solely relied upon in the last license 21 year, but perhaps used as part of a determination 22 that there's been a consistent pattern of 23 problems that - - 24 MR. SCHRIMPF: Right. That's exactly 25 right. 00010 1 ALDERMAN BOHL: That have continued to 2 ensue for the last couple years. 3 MR. SCHRIMPF: Right. 4 ALDERMAN BOHL: Mr. Chairman, at this 5 time I just would move to make the entire police 6 report part of our official record at the 7 proceeding. 8 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Motion by Alderman 9 Bohl is to make the entire police report part of 10 the permanent record in this matter, and hearing 11 no objections, so ordered. 12 Can I see a show of hands? Is there 13 anyone here in the audience besides the people at 14 the table to testify relative to Tommy's Club 76 15 at 4730 North 76th Street? Please raise your 16 hand. Anybody here to testify relative to 17 Tommy's Club 76 at 4730 North 76th Street, please 18 raise your hand. Let the record show no one 19 acknowledges this question. Alderman Davis. 20 ALDERMAN DAVIS: Thank you, Mr. Chair. 21 Members of the committee. First of all, and I 22 thank Alderman Bohl for bringing that up, because 23 I - - I feel slighted that at the last time that 24 this application came before this committee that, 25 you know, this information was not included in 00011 1 the police report so that the committee could 2 have taken action sometimes in the years past. 3 Because as I take a look at the establishment and 4 the discipline that this committee had 5 jurisdiction over, you only took into 6 consideration those incidents that were reported. 7 And it's unfortunate that warning letters were 8 sent out, when I think that based upon the 9 egregious acts that we see within the police 10 department, maybe the committee would have made 11 different recommendations to the full Council. 12 So let me say that in opening my remarks. 13 Clearly, Mr. Chair and members of the 14 committee, this particular establishment is out 15 of control. It is truly out of control because 16 no more is this a gentleman's club. Because I 17 don't think gentlemen behave this way. I don't 18 think gentlemen shows chrome pistols and run 19 security guards back into the establishment. And 20 I don't think gentlemen pistol whips people, and 21 I don't think gentlemen, for some odd reason, 22 take it upon themselves to create an unstable 23 environment in residential neighborhoods. Now, 24 just less than 200 feet away you have residential 25 homes right behind this establishment. And I'll 00012 1 tell you the reason why folks are not willing to 2 come down here. Because they are tired of seeing 3 - - 4 MR. WHITCOMB: Mr. Chairman. I'm duty- 5 bound to protect the record, and I would object 6 to the alderman testifying as to what any 7 constituent might have said to him at, you know, 8 to be considered as having any evidentiary input 9 in this matter. 10 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Yes, Alderman 11 Davis, if you could just stick to personal 12 testimony, we'd appreciate it. 13 ALDERMAN DAVIS: Thank you. As the 14 alderman of the area, Mr. Chairman, I walked this 15 neighborhood yesterday, and I talked to numerous 16 residents. And they are concerned. I've talked 17 to them, based upon personal testimony at their 18 door indicating some of the instability that this 19 partic - - 20 MR. WHITCOMB: Mr. Chairman. 21 ALDERMAN DAVIS: - - this particular 22 establishment has occurred in the neighborhood. 23 May I continue? 24 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Just be careful of 25 your reference to discussions with others, 00013 1 because we can't cross-examine those other people 2 and ask them questions. 3 ALDERMAN DAVIS: Sure. And - - And - - 4 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Go ahead. 5 ALDERMAN DAVIS: And I run into 6 difficulty, Mr. Chairman, because as an elected 7 official, if I have a certain - - If I have a 8 certain relationship with certain people in the 9 district in which I represent, where these type 10 of issues come forward, I'm the one that gets the 11 calls about neighborhood instability, crime in 12 general. It is in my opinion, that I think that 13 this particular establishment creates a - - a 14 instability to the area. And I'll tell you a 15 couple of reasons why. Gunshots, robberies, 16 nuisance properties, and also, I have 17 constituents that are single women who work third 18 shift who come home at the times that you see 19 some of these incidents that occur. And I'm 20 concerned about the adjacent alley, which is 21 directly in this area, and my constituents have 22 to make sure that their safety is paramount. 23 I think - - I appreciate the committee 24 taking a position on other establishments in that 25 specific area, because we have seen a 00014 1 collaboration with businesses to try to clean it 2 up. This is the dividing line, 76th Street, 3 between 2nd Aldermanic District and the 5th 4 Aldermanic District. And I know, personally, 5 that we do face some challenges, and the 6 neighborhood has changed. I think the use of 7 this property, in my opinion, has served its 8 purpose. And if Mr. Cullen, in fact, based upon 9 the - - the estate, needs to sell this property 10 to settle off any debts. Because I've heard this 11 argument time and time again. 12 My concern is not only for the 13 businesses in the area, but for people who have 14 made an investment in that area, specifically the 15 property tax payers that's in that area to see 16 their assessment go up, again still, still see a 17 high crime rate in the area. That possibly could 18 be attracting problems, specifically from the 19 establishment. I said "possibly." I'll make - - 20 I'll let the committee make its recommendation 21 from that - - from that standpoint. So, I'm 22 taking the position to deny this particular 23 license. Deny this license based upon the public 24 safety and the welfare of the constituents in 25 which I represent in the 2nd District. Thank 00015 1 you. 2 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Thank you, 3 Alderman Davis. Any questions by members of the 4 committee? 5 MR. SCHRIMPF: Mr. Chairman, I have a 6 question of the police sergeant. 7 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Please, Mr. 8 Schrimpf. 9 MR. SCHRIMPF: Thank you. On item 10 number 14, Sergeant Ulickey. As I understand it, 11 the tavern was closed when this incident 12 occurred. 13 SERGEANT ULICKEY: Security guard was 14 checking the parking lot after closing time. 15 From what I read here, yes. 16 MR. SCHRIMPF: I guess - - I guess my 17 question is was the actor a patron of the place 18 at the time or - - 19 SERGEANT ULICKEY: No. That 20 information I don't see. 21 MR. SCHRIMPF: - - did it just occur in 22 the parking lot? 23 SERGEANT ULICKEY: It appears it just 24 occurred in the parking lot, but I - - I really 25 couldn't answer that. I don't have all the 00016 1 information in front of me. 2 MR. SCHRIMPF: Okay. That's all I 3 have, Mr. Chairman. 4 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Any further 5 questions? 6 MR. WHITCOMB: If I may, Mr. Chairman? 7 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Go ahead. 8 MR. WHITCOMB: As the full report of 9 the police department was made part of the 10 record, I'd just like to address some of the item 11 - - items that were mentioned that occurred other 12 than during the last license year. 13 Incident number nine, the establishment 14 has no knowledge of that occurring. Something 15 that happened on the street outside the 16 establishment. 17 Item number ten. Only heard about the 18 incident. There was a disturbance once the 19 individuals had left the club. Had only heard 20 that there was a - - a hand wound, not 21 knowledgeable of any stabbing to the chest or the 22 abdomen. 23 Item number 11. No knowledge of it. 24 Never heard - - heard about it. No investigation 25 was made, at least of Tommy's by the police 00017 1 department. 2 Item number 12. That was a fight 3 between boyfriend - - an ex-boyfriend and an 4 employee of the establishment that occurred after 5 she had - - had left. Didn't have anything to do 6 with the operation of the establishment, other 7 than the boyfriend or ex-boyfriend knew that's 8 where she worked. 9 Item number 13. That happened after 10 the bar was closed. The bar never heard about 11 it. The bar customarily closes anywhere between 12 a half hour and 45 minutes prior to legal 13 mandatory closing time. 14 Item number 14. That was just an 15 attempted robbery outside the establishment. It 16 wasn't a patron of the establishment, according 17 to Mr. Cullen, and I would think that the - - he 18 wouldn't be a patron, because he would have known 19 that the person he was attempting to rob was a 20 security guard. 21 Item number 15. That's true as 22 reported, and it was reported by the 23 establishment, that the window was broken in the 24 parking lot. 25 Item number 16. That started inside 00018 1 the establishment. There are two groups of 2 males, one of four males and one of two males. 3 They argued inside the establishment. The larger 4 group of four males was determined to be the 5 aggressors, and they were escorted out of the 6 establishment. The other group waited inside, 7 and then they asked to leave. They asked to 8 leave versus a side exit so the matter would not 9 continue afterwards. They did leave the side 10 exit. The establishment had thought that their 11 cars were parked in the parking lot of the 12 establishment, and that they could safely walk 13 from the side exit to their car. However, the 14 two males who exited the side - - side exit had 15 their car parked on the street. When they walked 16 across the street to their car, they were jumped 17 by the other four guys, and the - - a handgun was 18 discharged that was obtained from the car of the 19 aggressor group. That incident, the 20 establishment responded accordingly and could not 21 have predicted what had transpired afterwards. 22 Certainly had they known if the patron - - the 23 - - the two males had parked on the street, they 24 would have advised them to remain inside Tommy's 25 for another ten or 15 minutes until the other 00019 1 group had left. 2 The other incident during the license 3 year, number 17, where shooting casings were 4 found in the bar, there is no knowledge of any 5 shooting. The bar was closed at the time. The 6 casing that Mr. Beringer found was found, not 7 inside the tavern as the report indicates, but 8 outside the tavern. He's here to testify if need 9 be on that matter. There were no shots fired 10 inside the tavern. While the bar was closed, 11 they heard a shot outside. 12 THE APPLICANT: Can I correct you on 13 that, please? 14 MR. WHITCOMB: Yes, go ahead. 15 THE APPLICANT: The bar was actually 16 open at that point in time. They were just 17 closing. What happened was two people were being 18 escorted from the bar. They got outside the bar, 19 and that was when the incident occurred. A gun 20 was not inside the bar at any time. It was 21 handed off. We have it on film on our video 22 disk. 23 MR. WHITCOMB: Item number 18. A large 24 number of officers came into the establishment. 25 We assume that they were looking for a particular 00020 1 individual. They're welcome at any time. They 2 ID'd every - - every person in the establishment. 3 We have no further knowledge of what is reported, 4 and do not doubt it. 5 Item number 19 is an aberration. This 6 is on video. A young small black male walked 7 across the street with a shotgun with the handle 8 sawed off the - - the stock sawed off. On the 9 street right - - from the sidewalk he emptied 10 four shotgun rounds into the window of the 11 establishment and took off. There was no problem 12 inside the establishment at that time. No one 13 knows who the individual is. Have no idea of how 14 or why that occurred. 15 I would ask at this time to abbreviate 16 this hearing, if you will, that my comments made 17 at the license for Camelot concerning the history 18 of Mr. Cullen be made part of this record. 19 Otherwise, I can repeat them here today, but you 20 heard them just moments ago. 21 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Alderman Bohl 22 moves that those - - that that be allowed. 23 Hearing no objections, so ordered. Unless you 24 really need some air time. 25 MR. WHITCOMB: Mr. Chairman, I - - I 00021 1 have specific comments related to Tommy's Club 2 different from Camelot Show Lounge, but I ask to 3 be made part of the record, documents indicating 4 the attention that Mr. Cullen addressed to this 5 establishment starting in February of '07, and 6 they consist of an e-mail from Mr. Cullen to 7 Alderman Bohl, and Alderman Bohl's district is 8 directly across the - - the street. An e-mail of 9 February of '07 to both Alderman Bohl and 10 Alderman Davis, a letter of March 2nd, 2007 to 11 Captain Gaglion. Is that the correct 12 pronunciation? 13 THE APPLICANT: Gaglion. 14 MR. WHITCOMB: Gaglion. And then the 15 policy implemented at Club Tommy's concerning 16 admission to only those 25 and over. 17 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: And Alderman 18 Witkowski moves to make those items referred to 19 by Mr. Whitcomb as part of the permanent record 20 in this hearing. Hearing no objections, so 21 ordered. How many pages is that? 22 MR. WHITCOMB: There are - - There are 23 four documents, and they're all paged - - or 24 paginated. 25 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Four page - - 00022 1 We'll refer to it as a four page document. 2 MR. WHITCOMB: Yeah, the first is - - 3 The first e-mail is a two page document. The 4 second e-mail is a two page document. The letter 5 to Cap - - to the Captain is a four page 6 document, and the 25 and over policy is a one 7 page document. 8 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: So this package 9 will be made part of the permanent record in this 10 hearing. Hearing no objections, so ordered. 11 MR. WHITCOMB: It represents the 12 efforts that Mr. Cullen has made since the 13 beginning or the early part of this year. He has 14 had personal contact with Captain Gaglion - - 15 THE APPLICANT: Gaglion. 16 MR. WHITCOMB: - - Gaglion, of the 17 local aldermen, as well as representatives from 18 the City Attorney's office. He has also 19 retained, as he indicated before, for the Camelot 20 Club, retired Lieutenant Jay Martiga, who has 21 made recommendations which has been implemented 22 by Tommy's. 23 The incidents outside the establishment 24 have dwindled substantially for two reasons. 25 One, the parking lot for Tommy's was in-fenced 00023 1 with a cyclone fence in July of this year. So 2 those - - And those parking lot incidents - - 3 July of '06. Those parking lots incidents which 4 preceded July of '06 are not occurring anymore. 5 People are not walking across the alley through 6 the parking lot as a short cut, and the access to 7 the parking lot is limited to vehicular traffic, 8 basically the patrons at Tommy's. That has 9 diminished a great deal of troublesome activity 10 outside the establishment. 11 Second, there are floodlights on the 12 exterior of the premises. So it's well lit at 13 night. 14 Third, there is a high - - high tech 15 video security system for the exterior and the 16 interior of the premises that reproduces high 17 quality video productions of what occurs inside 18 and outside the club. This information is 19 retained for ten days. The Milwaukee Police 20 Department, not irregularly, requests to view 21 those videos concerning activity that occurs on 22 the street in the neighborhood. As fact, as 23 early as three days ago there was a robbery at 24 the check - - check cashing place up the street, 25 and the department requested and certainly were 00024 1 granted the opportunity to view the videotape of 2 that incident from the - - the cameras at Tommy's 3 Nightclub. 4 Also, since early this year, Mr. Cullen 5 has been consulting with Officer Lubes, who has 6 been assigned by the local Captain to assist Mr. 7 Cullen in his needs at Tommy's Nightclub and in 8 making suggestions and recommendations on 9 security and procedure. He also has increased 10 outside security at Tommy's from one to two at 11 closing time, which substantially reduced 12 problems or concerns of people leaving in a large 13 group at closing time and creating noise for the 14 neighborhood. He also has hired an additional 15 managerial staff with a manager's license for 16 Tommy, Mr. Bark, who is in the audience, who is 17 overseeing directly the operation on - - on a 18 day-to-day basis, because it's really not Mr. 19 Cullen's occupation or desire to be a club 20 manager, he's hired an expert, if you will, in 21 the area. 22 The - - These activities have been 23 implemented along with the camera systems, the 24 hard-drive recorder, the pat down of the door - - 25 at the door of employees, dancers and all 00025 1 patrons. Retaining dancers' IDs. Conducting 2 background checks on all personnel and dancers. 3 He has been - - Mr. Cullen has been cooperative 4 with the businesses in the neighborhood, has 5 contacted them, has par - - participated in the 6 - - the business group or the neighborhood watch 7 group in the area upon the suggestion of the 8 local alderman. And is cooperating with them and 9 making himself available to any suggestions, 10 recommendations that they may have. All of which 11 has reduced the patronage of Tommy's Nightclub. 12 It's still a viable enterprise, but the strict 13 controls, the high security, the professionalism 14 of the staff has made it less attractive to those 15 intent on doing what they feel like doing, rather 16 than behaving as gentlemen. As submitted 17 respectfully that management has professionally 18 addressed these concerns. Mr. Cullen will 19 continue to work with the local Captain, the 20 local neighborhood group. Continue to be in 21 contact with the businesses in the area. And 22 will have on board the retire - - retired 23 Lieutenant, Jay Martiga, to provide assistance 24 and to regularly visit the establishment during 25 the busy times to see if anything further needs 00026 1 to be done to make this a viable operation, not 2 any more creating the concerns that have arisen 3 in the police report, the majority of which were 4 more neighborhood-related than necessarily 5 related to the operation of the establishment. 6 It is requested that the committee recommend this 7 license, that this - - this committee will have 8 an opportunity in a month or two, again, to 9 consider this establishment, when the transfer 10 application, the new business enterprise is 11 considered by this committee, and at that time I 12 respectfully submit the very good record of this 13 establishment since February of '07 will 14 continue. You will note that it was in February 15 of '07 that all of the new policies had been 16 implemented, put into place upon the 17 recommendation of the local alderman, the Captain 18 of the district, and also, the retired police 19 Lieutenant. Once again, Mr. Cullen is not an 20 expert in this area. He did not intend to open 21 clubs of this nature. What his intent has been 22 is to rever - - preserve assets of the estate, 23 and now he has put together a team to do so. And 24 I respectfully submit to the local alderman, one 25 of the district, one across the district, that 00027 1 the quiet record of this establishment since 2 February of '07 will continue, because of the 3 policies and the structural additions and 4 modifications to the establishment that have been 5 made over the last year. Thank you, Mr. 6 Chairman. 7 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Thank you. Just 8 to clarify something, Mr. Schrimpf. The - - The 9 next application we're likely to see on this 10 place would be a new application, not a transfer. 11 Is that correct? 12 MR. SCHRIMPF: Well, it would be 13 treated - - That's correct. It's not - - It's 14 not a transfer. A transfer is only applied to an 15 existing license that's moving to a new location. 16 What's going to be happening is that this is 17 going to be a new application in the name of the 18 LLC. Ms. Barron seems to have some questions 19 about that. 20 MS. BARRON: I think it's a transfer by 21 assignment of the court. But I would have to 22 look at it. 23 MR. WHITCOMB: But the application and 24 the work of this committee pursuant to statutes 25 and local alderman - - or local ordinance, it is 00028 1 treated as if it's a new application. 2 MR. SCHRIMPF: Right. 3 MR. WHITCOMB: And I think the only 4 distinction is that on a - - in a transfer 5 situation the property right continues, but 6 everything else is the same as far as considering 7 the qualifications of the applicant and any 8 objections from the neighbor - - neighborhood of 9 the local alderman. 10 MR. SCHRIMPF: Right. 11 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: All right. Thank 12 you for that clarification. 13 ALDERMAN DAVIS: Mr. Chairman. 14 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Yes, Alderman. 15 ALDERMAN DAVIS: Just two things I want 16 to object to. And that is Mr. Whitcomb had 17 mentioned that I had received or got contacted by 18 via e-mail on the documents that were submitted 19 as part of the public record. 20 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Yes. 21 ALDERMAN DAVIS: And if you take a look 22 at the e-mails that were sent, it was only sent 23 to Alderman Bohl, and I was never copied on those 24 particular e-mails. So that on the e-mail line 25 in which the - - the - - was submitted for the 00029 1 public record, I object to having my name 2 associated by being contacted. Even though my 3 name appears in the body of the text, I was not 4 contacted. So I wanted to make sure that, you 5 know, as I take my position, I'm taking my 6 position based upon principle and based upon 7 representing the neighborhood. 8 Then the other thing that I would say 9 is that the recommendation of the local alderman 10 in which Mr. Whitcomb had mentioned is - - is not 11 very valid. And I object to him making that 12 reference, because I have not submitted any 13 recommendation, nor have I even engaged in the 14 conversation based upon some of these egregious 15 acts. Because I wanted to make sure that the 16 ethics, as I come before this committee, is - - 17 is paramount, so that we continue to make 18 decisions in a thoughtful way based upon our 19 conduct as we relate to the citizens of the City 20 of Milwaukee. Thank you. 21 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Thank you, 22 Alderman. 23 THE APPLICANT: May I respond? 24 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Just go ahead. 25 MR. WHITCOMB: As - - as regards the e- 00030 1 mail. 2 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Yes. 3 THE APPLICANT: Yes. I actually did 4 copy Alderman Davis on all the e-mails. There 5 may be one that's missing here, but I did send 6 copies to Alderman Davis. It was my intent to 7 send both these e-mails, or all of the e-mails. 8 I had one called "update," another one called, 9 "second update." And I did send those to 10 Alderman Davis, and I believe I have the - - I 11 had to have someone else print these out for me. 12 My printer was not operating properly. And 13 you'll see, perhaps his name appears somewhere, 14 but it's Richard Prester, an associate of mine. 15 And we didn't print out everything, but I did, in 16 fact, forward copies of everything to both 17 aldermen. And I did - - I did call Alderman 18 Davis on a number of occasions. 19 ALDERMAN DAVIS: I'm strictly speaking 20 on what is before this committee, which is a 21 matter of record. 22 THE APPLICANT: Yes. 23 ALDERMAN DAVIS: Which is before you, 24 and that's - - 25 THE APPLICANT: Okay. 00031 1 ALDERMAN DAVIS: I just wanted to make 2 that clear, sir. 3 THE APPLICANT: Thank you. 4 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Thank you. 5 THE APPLICANT: Sorry. 6 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: This matter is in 7 committee. 8 ALDERMAN DAVIS: One more, for a 9 minute? 10 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Go ahead, Alderman 11 Davis. 12 ALDERMAN DAVIS: Thank you. The 13 management of this establishment is questionable. 14 And as I sat before the proceedings before the 15 committee, and I know that Mr. Cullen is - - is 16 working through an issue as far as this estate is 17 concerned, but on a prior issue that came before 18 this committee Mr. Cullen stated that he has at 19 bar time on another issue in his - - in his area, 20 that he witnesses the closing of that bar. And 21 if he's witnessing the closing of another 22 establishment that's in his neighborhood and the 23 questionable practices that are occurring in the 24 district in which I represent, it clearly 25 indicates that the management at this particular 00032 1 establishment is not high quality. And I wanted 2 to make sure that, you know, as I relate these 3 things, is that Mr. Cullen needs to spend some 4 time in the 2nd District at Tommy's, because he 5 needs to see what my - - my constituents are 6 going through at night. Because that is very 7 important for a responsible owner to be around 8 his establishment when these type of things are 9 occurring. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 10 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Thank you, 11 Alderman. Go ahead. Respond, then - - then that 12 will be it. The last response. 13 MR. WHITCOMB: Just factually, one of 14 the Beringer's sons works at Tommy's on a regular 15 basis, so - - so he's there. Number one. 16 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Okay. 17 MR. WHITCOMB: And number two, for 18 Tommy's in February of this year, Mr. Dan Bark 19 was retained as the manager of the establishment 20 to concur with comments made regarding management 21 happened before, but it's not Mr. Cullen's 22 forte'. But in February of this year he brought 23 in - - He thought he could do it and save the - - 24 the estate expense by trying it himself, not 25 always on a full time basis. But that changed 00033 1 from February, and now he has people on board 2 full time. But he is just the agent of the 3 corporation. He's not necessarily the person 4 that's - - that's there 24 hours, but now he has 5 people that are. 6 ALDERMAN DAVIS: But he's responsible 7 for the liquor license. 8 MR. WHITCOMB: That is correct. 9 Absolutely correct. 10 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: This matter is in 11 committee. 12 ALDERMAN BOHL: Mr. Chairman. 13 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Alderman Bohl. 14 ALDERMAN BOHL: This one is - - is 15 certainly more troubling than - - than the 16 previous of the two licenses in this estate. I 17 just will say that, you know, I - - I can only 18 respond to - - to the issues as - - as they've 19 been brought to me, and as I know them, and - - 20 and I will say that from the get go, I - - You 21 know, Mr. Cullen came to me as somebody who was 22 very critical of the timeliness of - - of how 23 this estate was being closed, of the issues here. 24 I think if one thing that may be said, and - - 25 and it's a matter of interpretation. It may be 00034 1 that - - that there was a naivety on the part of 2 Mr. Cullen in terms of operating these type of 3 facilities, particularly in neighborhoods that 4 have - - that have some issues. But I - - But I 5 do believe that in - - in his contacting me and - 6 - and, you know, it - - I - - I don't represent 7 where this property is located, but I do 8 represent the area across the street. And as - - 9 As a member of this committee, I - - I believe 10 that Mr. Cullen has been earnest in terms of 11 trying to - - to rightfully deal with the issues 12 of this establishment. And, you know what? He 13 has to. Because they're very, very concerning. 14 The type of gunplay that has gone on here is just 15 something that it's - - it's fortunate that 16 somebody has not - - has not been injured more 17 severely or - - or frankly, been killed. I do 18 believe that - - that he is - - is earnest in 19 terms of trying to - - to rectify these issues 20 here. He has been present at - - at a 21 neighborhood association that's - - that's across 22 the street. Asked me for suggestions on trying 23 to meet and - - and deal with these problems here 24 on a timely basis. In part, because he doesn't 25 want to operate these clubs, doesn't want it to 00035 1 be open. Wants the estate to be closed, and 2 wants to - - to literally put - - put these clubs 3 behind him. 4 I - - I, you know, that being said, I 5 - - I can't avoid looking at the entirety of the 6 record. What I can say is - - is I - - I 7 appreciate the - - the earnestness, the candor, 8 and everything that's come from it, and - - and I 9 believe Mr. Cullen to be a man of integrity. And 10 I don't know that anything, that there was 11 anything that would - - would suggest otherwise. 12 But - - But I do believe that with this record, 13 despite the fact that there have been a few 14 months here recently where there haven't been 15 problems, and I - - and I will factor that in, I 16 - - I do think that this place is at the last of 17 its nine lives, and I - - I'd be real curious, 18 depending on what the legal - - what the legal 19 interpretation is going to be when - - when this 20 place comes up for a transfer, as to whether or 21 not it has the reciprocity right or not, whether 22 it survives. 23 But in the interim time, based on the 24 severity of the police reports, vectoring in a 25 number of the changes that have been made since 00036 1 that - - that time over the last few months, I 2 will move approval of the renewal of the license 3 with the issuance of a 75 day suspension. 4 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Motion by Alderman 5 Bohl is to recommend approval of the renewal of 6 this license with the issuance of a 75 day 7 suspension based on items contained in the police 8 report. Is there any discussion on the motion? 9 Are there any objections to that motion? 10 ALDERMAN WADE: I'll object. 11 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Hearing one 12 objection, the motion carries on a vote of three 13 to one. 14 MR. SCHRIMPF: Mr. Whitcomb, the 15 committee is going to be doing findings of fact 16 and conclusions of law, recommending renewal of 17 this license with a 75 day suspension. You will 18 receive a copy of that. You will have an 19 opportunity to submit written objections. If so, 20 they must be received by the City Clerk by the 21 close of business, June 14th, 2007 at 4:45 p.m. 22 If you submit written objections, then you will 23 also have an opportunity to appear before the 24 Common Council when it meets on this matter at 25 approximately nine a.m. on June 19th, 2007. Do 00037 1 you accept service on behalf of the estate? 2 MR. WHITCOMB: Yes, Mr. Schrimpf. 3 MR. SCHRIMPF: Thank you, Mr. Whitcomb. 4 CHAIRMAN WITKOWIAK: Thank you. 5 MR. WHITCOMB: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 6 * * * * * 00038 1 2 3 STATE OF WISCONSIN ) 4 ) MILWAUKEE COUNTY ) 5 I, JEAN M. BARINA, of Milwaukee Reporters 6 Associated, Inc., 5124 West Blue Mound Road, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53208, certify that the foregoing 7 proceedings was transcribed under my direction for the license of Tommy's Club 76, that came before the 8 Licenses Committee. 9 10 11 JEAN M. BARINA 12 Court Reporter 13 14 15 Dated this day of June, 2007. 16