By Geoffrey Wertime, Staff Writer
BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP A popular sports bar has made a number of policy changes after several fights there resulted in patrons being charged with disorderly conduct.
Michael Mastoris, co-owner of Alstarz Sports Pub on Route 130/206, said his clientele saw a shift in November, as more and more patrons from Trenton began to show up on Friday nights. He said undercover policemen told him some of these new customers may be gang members, and that while he had no way of knowing, the bar began to slowly change its dress code to avoid potential problems.
Three incidents occurred there in late 2008 that netted a total of 11 arrests, and Mr. Mastoris said the pub instituted several new measures that have kept things quiet since.
Starting the day after the third incident, on the morning of Dec. 28, he said the pub abandoned its “step-by-step” approach and made a number of changes immediately.
Customers at Alstarz are no longer permitted to wear anything on their heads, such as hats or bandanas. These items may not even be brought insidethe pub now requires that they be left in the car, after a number of patrons took to pocketing headgear and putting it on inside.
Baggie clothing of any type and hard-tipped combat and construction boots are also forbidden.
The pub has also taken to hosting Saturday night bands with a more “classical” feel, Mr. Mastoris said, and charging a cover of between $5 and $10 on Friday nights in addition to the normal Saturday night cover.
And despite being able to accommodate 275 seated customers and several hundred standing, Friday nights are now limited to between 200 and 300 people altogether.
”Our entire element has totally changed 100 percent,” Mr. Mastoris said. “We are back to what we were up until mid-November when this whole thing changed. Everything’s back to normal now.”
The sports pub opened its doors in November 2007. Owned by brothers Michael and Alex Mastoris, the establishment sits directly next to and shares a parking lot with the family’s Mastoris Diner-Restaurant. The latter has been a fixture in the township for about 50 years.
On Dec. 27, police said they charged three men after encountering several simultaneous fights at Alstarz, which a police report claimed involved up to 100 people altogether.
Corey A. Thomas, 25, of Trenton, and Willingsboro residents Kenneth R. Johnson, 26, and Armetrius J. Williams, 22, were charged with disorderly conduct. Police said a township officer was performing a property check of the bar, and that while he was in the parking lot at 12:56 a.m., an Alstarz security officer ran to the policeman to advise him of the fight.
Two township and two Bordentown City officers entered the bar and sent a request for help, drawing units from Mansfield, Chesterfield, Springfield, and Burlington City, along with about 15 state troopers, who together helped restore order, according to a police report.
Additional arguments occurred in the parking lot, police said, forcing officers to remain on the location for about 45 minutes to keep the peace.
Mr. Thomas, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Williams were charged after refusing to leave the bar, police reported.
While Mr. Mastoris said he has no disagreement with police, he said fewer than 10 people were involved in a single fight.
Bordentown Township Police Lt. Norman Hand emphasized that 100 people is not an exact number, but rather based on officers’ at the scene report of “up to” that many. Employees working there at the time gave the report some substantiation, he noted.
On Dec. 20, at 1:48 a.m., police said they encountered a fight in the parking lot between several people. The officer and three additional units approached the scene and the large crowd around it quickly dispersed, police reported, and police then spoke with one of the involved parties, who said they did not wish to press charges.
At the incident, Raje Sims, 25, of Jackson, was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Police said he began screaming obscenities at the officers while he was within earshot of Alstarz and Mastoris patrons, and refused to lower his voice or stop using profanity despite police’s requests to do so. After being taken into custody, he attempted to run away, head butting one of the officers, police said. He was transported to Burlington County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail, and has since been released, according to county records.
In November, an undercover operation by township police, the Burlington County prosecutor’s office Gangs, Guns and Narcotics Task Force, and the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control netted seven arrests on a Friday night at the bar.
Charges in the Nov. 21 sting included underage drinking and disorderly conduct.
In a press release describing the incident, Police Chief Frank Nucera said the findings of the operation would be forwarded to the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Division for review and possible administrative action on the bar’s liquor license. The ABC is a division within the state Department of Law and Public Safety.
Rachel Goemaat, spokeswoman for the ABC, said Jan. 21 that no charges had been filed against Alstarz.
