ABC AGENTS GIVE FALSE AND MISLEADING TESTIMONY IN ABC HEARING

 

ABC ENFORCEMENT AGENTS HEROMAN AND DANZY TELL LIES TO ABC BOARD IN HEARING

Two of tainted ABC Director Boyce Hamlet's elite Enforcement Agents provided false and misleading statements at the December ABC Board meeting in a hearing about a change of location application for a private club license by Billy Pope.

We posted about this hearing on December 18th. Read that post here.

One of the agents. Princess Danzy flat out lied about details that had a direct impact on the application of Bobby Pope for the relocation of a private club permit.

Danzy told the board that she did not disclose the to owner of the store in which she placed the petition or to two individuals that called her that Pope wanted to open a Gentlemen's Club. 

Danzy told ABC board member Mickey Powell that they had no idea it was going to be a Gentlemen's Club.  That was a lie.  Documents obtained in a FOI request last week prove it.

In that hearing ABC Administration Director Roberts stated that he had received a letter from the store owner against the private club so we requested that letter.

This is what we received from Roberts:

We made a visit to the Phillips 66 station.  It wasn't much of an operation and we can't imagine that additional patrons purchasing gas and cigarettes would be an unwanted thing for the store owner.

The email from Agent Danzy to Director Roberts was sent on October 18, 2016.  Two days before Roberts turned down pope's request to move the location of the private club.

The information in Danzy's email directly contradicts her sworn testimony.  Not surprising given that her boss, tainted ABC Enforcement Director Boyce Hamlet has set an example of how lying can be an asset to getting what you want.

Danzy stated that she went out in search of people that objected to Pope's relocating his private club. No doubt she was following orders from Hamlet.

Readers will recall that Hamlet had done this before, the most blatant incident involved the Pic-Pac Liquor Store in Little Rock.  Hamlet sent his minions out to root out complaints when none were being made in a failed attempt to shut down the liquor store.  Read our posts about that here and here.

So Danzy placed a poorly crafted petition in a gas station/convenience store directly across the street from the proposed location for Pope's private club.

Pope wanted to open a Gentlemen's Club at  4634 W. Dixon Road. A predominately industrial area.

There is an older neighborhood north of the proposed site (England Acres), but a hilly, wooded area separates the properties.

Only two individuals with an address in the England Acres addition signed the petition.  One on Keo Drive and the other on Dobby Lane.  

From available public records we were able to determine that there are 91 homes in England Acres. Out of 91 homes, only 2 objected to Popes' private club.  That is 1.82% of the neighborhood. An extremely low number.

Agent Heroman testified under oath that the neighborhood would be adversely impacted by Pope's private club even though he didn't live there and offered no justification for making that statement.

Heroman though that it was important that no one brought up the fact that there was a neighborhood in the area. No one also brought up the fact that there are several industrial plants in the immediate area and two that actually bookend the neighborhood.

Heroman also questioned the authenticity of photographs introduced as evidence that showed a wooded area between the neighborhood and the proposed site.  He claimed that he passed by there nearly everyday that that there were no trees or a wooded area there.

These images (taken in August 2016 by Google) clearly show that there is a heavy wooded buffer between the proposed site and the neighborhood.

In fact, most of that area of the county is rather woody. Readers will remember that Heroman's honesty and character have been called into question in previous posts. Read then here and here.

  

Pope did remark that a Pulaski County Sheriff's Department substation and the LRPD training academy were less than one mile from the proposed site.

That is the same substation were Agent Danzy went to get information and found out that it was a dry part of the county.  By the way, the Sheriff's Department did not object to the private club, nor did any other governmental agency or entity. 

If ABC employee give false and misleading statements, under oath,  to the ABC Board as they did in this case need to be held accountable.

There are good honest and credible people working at the ABC and they do not like working with liars like this.  They also know that having an unqualified individual heading up the Enforcement part of the agency makes it hard for that agency to gain any respect.

Word is that Hamlet not be at the ABC much longer and a change will be made after the first of the year before the Medical Marijuana dispensary permits are given out.

It can't be soon enough for us and the decent, honest ABC employees. 

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