A Superior Court judge has finally issued a ruling in a bitter lawsuit that pitted Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno against owners of a downtown nightclub—and that found the mayor facing an embarrassing accusation of political retribution.
In the spring of 2009, Sarno—as part of a larger crackdown on crime, rowdiness and general bad behavior in the city’s so-called “entertainment district”—denied the owners of the Skyplex, at Stearns Square, permission to hold “18 and over” nights at the club. The club’s owners, Steve Stein and Mike Barrasso, sued that June, contending that the mayor’s ruling unfairly penalized them for violent episodes that took place at other clubs, not theirs, and was doing them serious financial harm.
At trial, two Springfield police officers who had worked private security details at Skyplex testified on behalf of the club, saying they felt the management took proper security measures.
Police Commissioner William Fitchet, meanwhile, testified on behalf of the city about the extra problems caused by 18-plus events in the entertainment district.
Last week, Judge C. Brian McDonald of Hampden Superior Court ruled in favor of City Hall, finding that the mayor’s decision was not “arbitrary and capricious” and did not deprive Stein and Barrasso of their right to due process.
McDonald also addressed an allegation that emerged during the trial: the club owners’ contention that Sarno was withholding the permits to punish them for declining to hold a fundraiser for him during his 2007 mayoral campaign.
McDonald, in his ruling, rejected that claim, writing that Sarno had “credibly denied” the accusation of political payback. Specifically, the judge wrote that Stein’s testimony about a meeting in which the mayor allegedly suggested that “people who promised to help in his campaign but didn’t and now [were coming] into his office looking for favors … weren’t going to get any” was contradicted by the testimony of political consultant Tony Cignoli, who was also at the meeting.
According to Cignoli’s testimony, the ruling noted, Sarno was “upbeat and helpful” at that meeting. When Barrasso asked Sarno about whether the government might be able to assist him and Stein in re-opening another club they owned, the Hippodrome, Cignoli offered this intriguing bit of testimony, according to the ruling: “[T]he Mayor said that it was amazing what so many allies say when you are in a campaign and that it was amazing the people that will come to you for help.”
Cignoli went on to testify that Sarno was “positive” and “wanted to help” in regard to the Hippodrome. (Stein and Barrasso, who owed the city back taxes on that building, recently sold it to the New England Farm Workers Council. The nonprofit will continue to operate the place as a theater and nightclub.)
McDonald’s ruling continued: “Cignoli testified that the meeting was not planned to discuss the proposed [18-and-older] events, but Barrasso brought it up, and that the Mayor responded by stating that he needed to consider a broader perspective, other businesses, and the residents of the City. … Further, Cignoli … testified that Stein himself was angry, agitated, and that he once discussed running for mayor or finding opponents for the Mayor.
“I credit Cignoli’s testimony over that of Stein,” the judge concluded.
