A suspended liquor license due to more than $38,000 in back-owed taxes didn’t stop The Crystal from selling alcohol for the past three years.
But how the Uptown bar avoided attention from state officials remains a mystery.
“It’s complaint-based, so we didn’t know about it,” said Julie Hinds, spokeswoman for the Ohio Investigative Unit.
The Ohio Liquor Control Commission suspended The Crystal’s liquor license indefinitely effective Sept. 22, 2008 after determining the bar owed $38,534.71 in corporate franchise taxes to the state, according to a commission document.
Under its suspension, The Crystal, 34 N. Court St., could not sell alcohol until paying the debt to the Ohio Department of Taxation — but liquor enforcement agents were unaware of the violation until they received a complaint that the bar was continuing to sell under suspension, Hinds said.
Agents shut down the bar indefinitely Friday night but did not seize any alcohol, she said, adding that they would only have done so if the bar were operating under a revoked license.
Members of the commission heard The Crystal case in August 2008 and voted to suspend its license, said Matt Mullins, spokesman for the Division of Liquor Control.
A vote by members determines whether an offender brought before the commission will be fined or if a license will be suspended or revoked, said Jada Brady, executive director of the commission.
The Crystal’s management did not return calls for comment.
After the bar’s management did not respond to the department’s payment requests in 2008, officials from the state Attorney General’s office took over the case, said Gary Gudmundson, spokesman for the department.
As of yesterday, the bar still owes $19,516.89 based on interest and fees yet to be collected, said Dan Tierney, spokesman for the Attorney General’s office. The Crystal has paid off a portion of the debt since the suspension was issued, he added.
“There is a lien on the debt, which means (bar management) couldn’t sell the property without paying off the debt,” Tierney said.
Until the debt is paid off, The Crystal’s license cannot be renewed, Brady said.
In three to six months, the commission will hold another hearing to determine the bar’s future.
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