Eight Mansfield Businesses Allegedly Violated Their Liquor Licences

By Jeff Fish

A report by Chief of Police Ronald Sellon at the Mansfield Board of Selectmen meeting Wednesday revealed that eight businesses in Mansfield allegedly violated their liquor licenses, prompting the board to call for hearings over the next two meetings.

The Mansfield Police Department “advised stores with liquor licenses that [we’d] perform compliance checks,” said Sellon. Officers performed checks on two separate days in June--on the 20th when there were five violations and on the 25th when there were three.

“[We] have seen fit not to file criminal charges,” he said, before deferring to the Board of Selectmen to see how they would handle the violations.

Mansfield Town Manager William R. Ross informed the board that hearings would involve the selectmen, a police officer involved with the checks, the Town Counsel, and owners, managers, or representatives from the establishments. Options the board can take to punish the businesses include a written warning and suspending, altering, or revoke their liquor licenses.

None of the businesses in question, which include liquor stores and restaurants, have violated their licenses over the past three years, the farthest back the board is allowed to look, according to Sellon.

The businesses that allegedly violated their licenses are The Store, Cibo Matto, Asia Bar and Grill, Corks, Chipotle, Casey O’Conor’s, Geno’s Restaurant and Lounge, and the Mansfield VFW.

The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to hold hearings--four at the next meeting on August 14 and four at the following meeting on August 28. The order of the hearings will be determined on the times each was allegedly caught violating their licences and each business will receive a certified letter informing them of the hearing date.