By KATHERINE PETERSEN
Owners of a Sunnyvale nightclub have filed a lawsuit against former Mayor Frances Rowe and Director of Public Safety Regan Williams for allegedly harassing and intimidating the business and its patrons.
Cheers nightclub, represented by San Francisco attorney John Boone, charges in the suit that Rowe abused her power as mayor and adopted her own agenda for "cleaning up Sunnyvale," or determining who should and would do business in the city.
The suit, filed March 18 in Santa Clara County Superior Court, contends that Rowe devised a "hit list" of businesses she would eliminate from Sunnyvale and sought assistance from Williams to run the club out of town. They charge that Rowe and police started a program of "conspiracy and intimidation" against the bar and its patrons, and that complaints to this end were filed with the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
Chris O'Hanlon, ABC's supervising investigator for Santa Clara County, said that his department has received more than 50 police reports about the club at 685 E. El Camino Real from the Department of Public Safety during the last 18 months.
O'Hanlon said the department is conducting a disorderly-premises investigation into Cheers. A hearing was set for the end of April, but will be rescheduled for May or early June because of conflicts with police officers who will testify. ABC begins an investigation when the number of reports it receives on a particular business is large enough to catch its attention, he said.
Three reports a year is typical of other clubs, he said.
This is the second time ABC has investigated Cheers, O'Hanlon said. In May 1994, the club's liquor license was suspended for 10 days. At that time, the ABC recommended that Cheers' license be revoked if additional reports of problems were received during the next 11 months, he said.
"This has been an ongoing problem with this premises. They have promised to clean up their act, promised to keep an eye on thse things, but it always seems to be the same story. The reports are still flowing in, and the fights are still happening," he said.
None of the plaintiffs, all Iranian-born, or their attorney could be reached for comment.
The plaintiffs--the Vey Corp., the bar's owner; Victor Parangi and Yadi Milani, the corporation's presidents; and Aidy Mallekpour, the bar's manager--contend that the police complaints to ABC are "malicious" in nature. They argue that extra patrol cars dispatched to the bar were used for intimidation as well as surveillance and that patrons were cited for minor infractions, such as jaywalking.
The plaintiffs maintain that Cheers met monthly with Williams to discuss any problems, but that on each occasion they were told the bar was causing no trouble.
Williams declined to comment, saying he hasn't yet consulted with an attorney.
The lawsuit charges Rowe and Williams with conspiracy, denial of equal protection (discrimination) and denial of due process. The suit seeks punitive, general and special damages and other monetary relief.
In the same suit, the bar's owner filed a complaint of slander against Rowe for trying to run the bar out of town while she was mayor in 1993-94. According to the lawsuit, Rowe was heard to comment, "We need to get the Iranians out of the city." The suit also contends that Rowe stated publicly that Cheers was a "drug haven."
Rowe declined to comment on the charges. She said she has turned the matter over to the city.
Rowe served on the City Council for one four-year term between 1991 and 1995. She was appointed to a two-year mayoral term in 1993, but after 13 months was removed by the council for interfering with city employees and conduct unbecoming of a mayor. She lost her re-election bid in November.
James Harrington, the city's risk and insurance manager, said outside legal counsel to represent Williams has not yet been selected. The city may or may not represent Rowe, depending on whether the alleged misdeeds occurred within the scope of her official capacity, Harrington said.
This is the second lawsuit against Rowe filed by a Sunnyvale nightclub owner.
In October 1994, Rowe was one of 16 city officials named in a case filed by Abel Yassini, owner of the now-bankrupt Baccarat Restaurant, 1092 E. El Camino Real. Bruch Tichinin, Yassini's attorney, asserted that Sunnyvale had violated Yassini's rights by not allowing his business to opeate past midnight. The case is on appeal in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Tichinin said Yassini, who is Iranian, was being singled out because other nightclubs had permission to operate past midnight.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, April 17, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.