Bar May Lose Its License After Drug Raid

State alcohol officials say they will try to suspend or revoke the liquor license of a Torrance bar they raided last weekend--the first of what may be several sting operations on South Bay bars that police say are frequented by drug dealers.

The state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control said it plans to take the action against the Raintree, after raiding the bar last weekend and arresting three patrons and a bartender on suspicion of selling narcotics.

The bar’s owners did not return several phone calls seeking comment.

3-Month Investigation

The raid was the culmination of a three-month investigation that included eight purchases of cocaine by undercover agents, said Phil Henry, a supervising special investigator with the state agency.

Arrested were bartender Philip Cataldi, 35, of Redondo Beach, and three customers: Ihab Dia, 27, and Kevin Morelock, 25, both of Torrance, and Patricia Hernandez, 26, of Inglewood.

Dia, known as “Happy Days” around the bar, has been charged with three counts of selling cocaine, while Cataldi, Morelock and Hernandez face one charge each of selling cocaine, Henry said. Dia was also charged with possessing methamphetamine and marijuana for sale after the drugs were allegedly found in his car.

A fifth man, in his mid-20s, also sold two cocaine packets to agents but has not yet been arrested. Police said the suspects appeared to work independently and sold the cocaine in quarter-gram or half-gram packets costing $25 to $50.

Morelock was being held on $5,000 bail, authorities said, while the other three have been released on bail.

During the raid, Alcoholic Beverage Control agents and Torrance police found about a dozen small packets of cocaine behind the bar’s cash register, Henry said.

The bar, located in the shopping center at the corner of Torrance Boulevard and Anza Avenue, has long been called a trouble spot by Torrance police. “If you want to score coke, you go down there. That’s the reputation of the bar,” said Capt. Jim Popp. “We have had an inordinate amount of activity in and around the Raintree.”

The bar attracts a late-night crowd with live music and dancing.

Police were last called in April, Popp said, when four men fought in the parking lot. One of the combatants required stitches when he was knocked down and hit his head on the pavement.

In March, a woman reported being attacked by her ex-boyfriend in the women’s restroom, Popp said. The woman told police that other women in the restroom ignored the fight because they were too busy snorting cocaine.

Police Complaints

In the most serious incident, Popp said, a bouncer fought with men who were thrown out of the bar after being accused of using cocaine in January, 1985. One of the men hit his head on the ground and died, Popp said. No charges were filed.

State alcohol officials sent a new Drug Enforcement-Narcotics Team to the Raintree because of police complaints.

The team was formed in February to crack down on bars that sell drugs or condone drug sales, Henry said. Saturday’s raid was the team’s first in the South Bay, but several other bars could be targeted because of tips about drug dealing, Henry said.

Under the state Business and Professions Code, bar owners can have their liquor licenses revoked if they or their employees condone the sale of illegal drugs. Henry said Raintree employees knew of the drug sales. He said one worker even questioned known dealers on the dance floor to help an agent make a drug buy.

“It was open and it was flagrant,” Henry said. “When we made the purchases, they were hand-to-hand transfers of the dope and money right on top of the bar.”

Henry said agents soon will file a suspension or revocation action, which will be judged by a hearing officer for the agency. If the hearing officer agrees to pull its license, the bar can appeal to the Alcoholic Beverage Appeals Board.

According to its liquor permit, the Raintree is owned by Ralph Holiday of Redondo Beach and Don Rightsell and Ray Cobb, whose hometowns were not available.