Mary Ann’s agrees to suspension

After more than a year of appeal processes and delays, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Committee (ABCC) has sentenced Mary Ann’s, a favorite Boston College student hangout, to a two-week suspension of its license. The Boston Licensing Board (BLB) had originally given the bar a suspension of one month after it was the scene of a crime that resulted in the arrest of four people, three of whom were BC students.

On Jan. 3, 2001, Jill DiSabato, now a former BC student, was accosted by basketball player Andrew Bryant, A&S ’04. This incited a brawl between Michael O’Connor, DiSabato’s boyfriend and a BC night school student, his brother Steven and Bryant, along with Kenney Harley, another basketball player and A&S ’01. All four men were arrested for assault and battery and held in jail overnight. Bryant and Harley’s charges also included assault and battery with dangerous weapons (broken beer bottles and shod feet).

The one-month license suspension was fair in the eyes of the BLB.

“If anything, maybe we’ve been a little lenient,” said BLB Chairman Daniel Pokaski after the incident.

Mary Ann’s disagreed with the BLB’s decision to suspend their liquor license for one month, so they exercised their right to appeal the ruling to the ABCC. As of January of this year, the ABCC had only received half of the bar’s testimony and the hearing for the second half was scheduled for Jan. 23.

The hearing never took place. According to Pokaski, “the attorney for the defense had a ‘family emergency’” on that day.

The hearing was rescheduled for March 13. Complications again arose this past Wednesday when proceedings were once more underway.

“Jill DiSabato, the woman who was accosted, was unable to attend and continue her testimony,” said Pokaski. “The ABCC decided that if she was not able to be cross-examined by the defense attorney, her entire testimony would have to be thrown out.”

“It’s a cute move,” said Pokaski. “What you do [as a defense attorney in these situations] is delay and delay and delay, and Jill is getting married next month. She doesn’t want to put herself through this any more.”

Mary Ann’s owner Stanley Chaban could not be reached for comment.

Both sides agreed upon “a two-week suspension for the last week of May and the first week of June,” said Pokaski, which is contrary to the BLB’s original intent to have the bar serve its suspension at a more crucial time. Senior week and March Madness were two possible times when Pokaski would like to have seen the suspension served by Mary Ann’s, as these times are often very busy for the bar.

“We’re not at all happy with this,” said Pokaski. “The two weeks suspension will be on their permanent record.”

Given its long history including patron assault, patron mistreatment, New York-related gambling rings and the serving of minors, Mary Ann’s is far from being in the clear, as far as Pokaski is concerned.

“We’re definitely going to keep an eye on them,” he said. “This is not the end of the story.”