LAWRENCE CO.—Some of Lawrence County’s liquor establishments, having come under fire during a March sting operation, were brought into the spotlight at a May county board Liquor Committee Meeting, but the bigger story might be issues surrounding video gaming in the facilities under Illinois’ new law.
And the whole matter has created the need for scrutiny of both alcohol license-holders as well as those who are licensed for video gaming, as there have been complaints coming in about both aspects of the facilities that host them.
On the list for discussion about the recent underage compliance violation offenses at the mid-Maymeeting of the county liquor committee were two facilities, The Pier and Madd Maxx’s Pizza and Pub, both of them located on Highway 33 in the Westport area, just across the bridge from Vincennes, with Madd Maxx’ being owned under the umbrella corporation of which former Bridgeport mayor/now federal convict Max Schauf is an unlisted part.
On the list for discussion at the same meeting as regards the gaming issue was also The Pier, as well as a new business in Lawrenceville, Comeaux’ Daiquiri Depot and Cajun Cafe.
However, unaddressed at the committee meetings were complaints arising from the Bridgeport facility also under the Max Schauf umbrella, “The Place to Be,” a bar/restaurant in that town run by the same bunch as usual: Schauf’s family members (son, sister, etc) and his girlfriend, Bev Preusz.
Unfortunately for several residents surrounding the pole barn bar, the county isn’t responsible for what goes on at The Place, since it sits within city limits of Bridgeport and comes under the purview of city ordinances, not county regulations.
But it all amounts to ongoing, ever-encroaching legislation making things more difficult for an already-difficult business—serving alcohol in any form—and the arbitrary way in which some statutes/ordinances are enforced…while others can be “let slide” as long as their fines and fees are made good. And that doesn’t sit well with many in Lawrence, who would like to see a more equitable way of handling infractions when they come along.
The Pier’s citations handled quickly and appropriately
At the Friday, May 16 meeting of the county’s liquor committee (composed of John Brookhart, Jim Brewer and as chairman, Dave White), the discussion lead off with the situation with The Pier and how they had successfully resolved having been cited by Illinois State Police during a March 18 underage compliance violation.
David Bryan, 25, of Bicknell, Ind., had been ticketed for serving an underage person, as set up by ISP in their sting.
The Pier is the reworked former Westport Inn restaurant, which is now basically two bars, The Pier and Westport 33 Lounge, offering two different atmospheres for fun and relaxation: The Pier has pool tables and dart boards to enjoy with drinks; the Lounge is the place a person can sit back, have their drinks, and relax to music videos. It’s become a very popular destination point for both Illinois and Indiana residents in the area, not just because of the two different types of bars, but also because both sides of the bars have slot machines, ten in all, for patrons to enjoy.
Brenda Taylor and Dan Deckard represented The Pier at the meeting, and acknowledged that Bray, as “the guilty bartender” who served the underage person in March, had since been suspended and had taken BASSET (Beverage Alcohol Sellers and Servers Education and Training) and had “taken responsibility and learned from his mistake.”
As the state controls regulating what goes on in bars and other liquor sales establishments, Liquor Control had suggested for The Pier and its employees to “card anyone who looks 45 and under.”
The facility had been fined $200 by the county for the violation; Bryan himself, Taylor told the committee, was paying his own fines and fees ($902, which court documents show have been paid in full, with Bryan now having a misdemeanor on his record.)
Schauf contingent’s fines
At the Schauf-owned Madd Maxx’ Pizza and Pub just up the road from The Pier, the same occurred: There was an underage compliance violation in the ISP sting, this one taking place March 13. Cited was one Ashley N. Carter, the offense mentioned in brief at the May 16 committee meeting.
Carter, 29, was assessed fines and fees in the same amount as Bryan was; however, unlike Bryan, she has not paid any of said fees.
Brookhart moved to fine Madd Maxx’ $420. That fine represented two offenses, only one of them having to do with the ‘sting’ and Carter’s citation: That one was a July 29, 2013 offense which was discovered by the State of Illinois Liquor Control Commission (ILCC) in a spot check last summer. Bottles of liquor with Indiana stamps were found being used in the bar; this is against regulations in Illinois, as the bar can only serve beverages from a licensed Illinois liquor distributor.
Schauf’s contingent owns a bar in Vincennes across the river, and it’s highly likely that he was arranging for that alcohol (which is taxed at a lower rate than Illinois liquor) to be brought to the Illinois bar when supplies ran low if at all possible.
Schauf, regular readers will recall, is still imprisoned at the Federal Correctional Center in Marion, serving out the remaining months of his sentence for stealing more than $50,000 from the city of Bridgeport between 2009 and 2012; he is set to be released March 15 of next year.
According to paperwork obtained on the matter, ILCC cut Madd Maxx a break after a hearing on the matter last November held in Springfield, and had them pay only $100, ostensibly the travel fee for someone to drive down from Chicago and meet at the ILCC hearing set for the case. As well, representatives of the business received a stern warning from the ILCC, who was familiar with a complaint generated some years ago about the bogus “veteran’s club” Schauf was running with Preusz in Bridgeport (which was shut down by the state just prior to Schauf’s federal indictment) after discarded bottles of liquor with Indiana stamps were found in that facility’s trash.
The county liquor committee had fined Madd Maxx $200 on the July 2013 offense, and $220 on the Ashley Carter infraction; records showed that as of May 30, all fines were paid in full.
Video gaming: are the rules being followed?
Of even more keen interest to the county liquor committee, however, was what’s being done about the video gaming machines that have been placed in certain establishments since the Illinois Video Gaming Act came into being and allowed for local facilities to start offering “gaming entertainment”…with occasional payouts.
At the mid-May meeting, it was brought out that some locations in the county weren’t “going black” at midnight on Sundays; per county ordinance passed on May 4, 2014, gaming is not supposed to be allowed on Sundays within the county.
However, it was brought up at the May 16 meeting that at the Cajun restaurant, Sunday gaming was ongoing.
The committee agreed that White would look into it and let the business—a very popular spot out on Highway 250 west of Lawrenceville in the former Q’s Restaurant building, with a second facility now in Mt. Carmel—know that the machines aren’t supposed to be played on Sundays, and were, to the county’s understanding, actually supposed to be turned off (“go black”) on Sundays.
That proposition might be a difficult one to accomplish, however, since the state is supposed to be tasked with actually “turning off,” then turning back on, the machines…and, as Dave Deckard pointed out at the meeting, “Scientific Games (the corporation that developed the technology for instant lottery and other gambling businesses in the country) were the ones who handle turning the machines black, and they never get in a hurry.”
Schaufling screwing up?
As mentioned, nothing was discussed about the problems encountered at The Place to Be in Bridgeport because the county liquor committee doesn’t have the responsibility of dealing with that particular facility.
However, word coming in to Disclosure indicates that there have indeed been a sprinkling of problems with The Place, again, a Schauf contingent reportedly operated by his kid, Mark Schauf, sister Connie and girlfriend Preusz.
The issue arose in recent months with bands appearing at the pole barn building, out of which sound emanates fairly easily due to construction.
Because the bands play late into the night and sometimes into the early morning hours, and because The Place is located in a largely residential section of Bridgeport on Highway 250, some of the neighbors have been complaining about being awakened or kept awake by the partying.
These ones have reported that Mark Schauf, who at age 23 still has a lot to learn about that side of the alcoholic beverage business (he knows how to drink it and has been imbibing with the blessing of his father Max for a number of illegal, underage years, according to his own social networking postings), approached them about their complaints, offering them free drinks if they wouldn’t make an issue out of it.
It’s been reported that thus far, no one has taken him up on it…which is a pretty good deal for him, at least, since the ILCC frowns upon such “trades.”
Whether that will be a cause for the Bridgeport city council to take up in the future remains to be seen.