|
TRENTON
– The Division of Alcoholic Beverage
Control (ABC) today announced a settlement
with Brig Inc., trading as Laguna Grill and
Martini Bar in Brigantine and owned by Brigantine
town councilman Dominic A. “Tony”
Pullella, for defrauding patrons by pouring
a significant amount of cheaper-grade vodka
and charging them for premium spirits from
May to September.
As
part of the settlement, Pullella’s
restaurant will close for seven days during
the summer and pay a $23,000 fine. The Brig
was charged with serving an alcoholic beverage
other than ordered, hindering an investigation
by having an employee provide false information
to an ABC investigator, and failing to produce
complete and accurate copies of invoice
slips. ABC licensees are strictly liable
for any violations of the Division’s
laws at their establishments.
“By
serving its customers cheaper vodka than
what had been ordered and paid for, the
Laguna Grill and Martini Bar was dishonest,”
Alcoholic Beverage Control Director Jerry
Fischer said. “These charges and this
investigation are a clear sign that the
ABC intends to put an end to this kind of
fraud.”
The
investigation began on September 2 when
ABC investigators questioned the bar’s
manager, and Pullella’s sister, Prudenzia
“Maria” Pullella, after receiving
two separate anonymous tips the bar may
be duping its customers. The investigators
were shown to the Laguna’s inventory
room, which yielded two tip-offs: a large
red funnel and a cardboard sign on a liquor
cabinet that read “Keep empties in
order. Do not put them all over. Only save
these vodka bottles. Do not throw any call
to top shelf empties out.”
Inside
the cabinet, ABC investigators found bottles
of premium vodkas Three Olives, Ketel One
and Stolichnaya with unsealed caps and filled
to varying levels. The anonymous tips had
alleged that Maria Pullella was pouring
Burnett’s flavored vodka into Three
Olives flavored vodka bottles and pouring
Absolut vodka into Ketel One and Stolichnaya
bottles. The investigators asked Maria Pullella
if she had done that. She denied it.
After
comparing the restaurant’s inventory
records and bar receipts, the investigators
determined the amount of Three Olives vodka
being brought out of the inventory room
did not match what was being ordered and
had been delivered by distributors. Maria
Pullella on two more occasions denied perpetrating
the scam to investigators, but after seeking
legal counsel, eventually signed a voluntary
statement admitting to switching the various
vodkas from August 17 to August 25. On September
9, ABC investigators made a follow-up visit
to the restaurant and discovered discrepancies
in records that suggested the fraud went
back as far as May. After being presented
with that evidence, Maria Pullella changed
her statement, admitting the scam went back
to May.
The
Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control has
a toll-free hotline for citizens to report
illegal activity to ABC’s Investigative
Unit. Anyone with information on illegal
activity is encouraged to call 1-866-713-8392.
All information received via the ABC hotline
will remain confidential.
### |
