Seattle nightclub owners decry arrests

Seattle nightclub owners said a battle with police and the mayor's office has been brewing for months, but an undercover sting that resulted in the arrest Saturday night of 17 club employees is the final straw.

Club owners will gather later in the week to decide whether to band together to fight the city in court, said Tim Hatley, lobbyist for the Seattle Nightlife and Music Association. Exactly what form that fight might take will be discussed during the meeting, say club owners.

During the sting, dubbed "Sobering Thought," officers posed as nightclub patrons and brought along underage companions who were admitted after presenting an expired driver's license, a license that belonged to someone else or proper identification that showed the person was underage.

Employees at 14 bars and clubs in the University District, Belltown, Pioneer Square and Capitol Hill were arrested for allegations spanning from serving alcohol to minors to letting someone bring a firearm inside.

Lance Miyatovich, owner of J&M Café in Pioneer Square, said his staff has been under excessive pressure to obey the law from the state Liquor Control Board, police and Mayor Greg Nickels' office all summer. He said his staff has always been careful to check driver's licenses and look for potential troublemakers, but has recently been obsessive about it because of the increased enforcement.

"If you have the Liquor Control Board coming down eight weeks in a row and Seattle police going through the club a few times a week, I would consider that intense scrutiny," Miyatovich said. "We run it [security] better now than we ever have because we are aware of what has been going on."

Hatley said that typically, when a bar or club is caught serving minors, the owners are cited by the Liquor Control Board. He has never heard of police storming a business on a Saturday night and removing employees in handcuffs.

"This is far beyond what anyone has seen. If there is a big problem with underage drinking, that's one issue to work on," Hatley said. "What's unfortunate is that there are some employees who have become road kill because of an agenda by the mayor and the chief of police."

Dan Reinharz, the owner of Tiki Bob's Cantina in Pioneer Square, said "these guys they arrested are not criminals. ... They are working guys that they haul away in handcuffs. It was way out of line."

Miyatovich and Hatley cited Nickels' push to have nightclubs obtain an operations license as the reason for the sting.

Nickels' spokesman, Marty McOmber, said the sting was the idea of City Attorney Tom Carr and that the mayor's office was briefed on it only after it was completed.

"The facts are the facts. These bars were serving minors and allowing dangerous weapons," said McOmber.

The Seattle City Council is expected to vote on Nickels' nightclub-licensing proposal sometime this month.

A spokeswoman for the city attorney's office said Monday the cases were under review and misdemeanor charges have been filed. Police said they conducted the sting to determine whether significant violations were occurring.

Police said undercover officers were able to bring guns into Tommy's, 4425 University Way, and Tabella Restaurant & Lounge, 2333 Western Ave. At Tommy's, the bouncer allegedly took a $100 bribe from an officer, police said. At Tabella Restaurant & Lounge, the bouncer allegedly noted a gun as he patted the officer down but let him walk inside anyway, police say.

David Osgood, the attorney for Tabella, said the bouncer knew the undercover officer and didn't question the weapon because he thought the officer was there on police business.

"Everyone is calling this the Saturday night massacre," Osgood said of the sting. "This is a power play; politics pure and simple."

Times staff reporter Christine Clarridge contributed to this report.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com

Information in this story, originally published on September 11, 2007, was corrected on September 15, 2007. During a recent sting operation, Seattle police entered 15 bars and nightclubs in search of liquor violations. Arrests were made at 14 of the businesses. An article in Tuesday's newspaper said arrests were made at all 15. In addition, the story incorrectly said no misdemeanor charges have been filed against those who were arrested. Thirty-one misdemeanor charges have been filed against 28 individuals.