City police take a flier, shut down a party

About 300 people were inside the private club when it was raided.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Fliers advertising The Aristocrat, a private club on the North Side, caught the attention of police, who raided the jam-packed bar Thanksgiving night, seized the alcohol and cited the operator for not having a liquor permit.
The operator, Jairus Ford, 25, of Greeley Lane, appeared for arraignment Friday in municipal court and pleaded innocent. Judge Robert P. Milich set bond at $2,000.
Ford will be back in court at 10:45 a.m. Dec. 6. If convicted, he faces up to 90 days in jail and $750 fine.
Complaints
In the past week or so, police received complaints of large drunken crowds at The Aristocrat at 571 Francisca Ave.
Patrolman Ronald Jankowski came across a flier for the bar at a sandwich shop on Midlothian Boulevard that advertised a "jump-off" party to be held from 11 p.m. Thanksgiving until 4 a.m. Friday. The flier said the cover charge was $5 and patrons had to be 18 to party and 21 to drink alcoholic beverages.
Jankowski and Patrolman Josh Kelly checked and found no records or liquor permits for The Aristocrat or GYWV Productions, the name on the flier.
So, around 11:45 p.m. Thursday, Jankowski and Kelly joined four patrolmen and two detective sergeants and descended upon the nightspot. The officers saw about 200 cars in the parking lot and a line of people at the door waiting to get in.
As police approached on foot, they saw patrons giving money to a woman seated at a table in the foyer. Two men were beside her, working the door, letting people in after they'd paid.
Officers said they saw about 300 people inside the private club and alcoholic beverages being consumed.
Patrolman Brian Welch took the cash box from the woman at the door, at which time an argument broke out, and she slipped into the crowd before being identified. The box contained $1,140.
Once inside the bar, police began to collect the open liquor bottles they found. They seized top-shelf bottles of cognac, vodka, gin, whiskey, brandy, rum and more.
The officers got the names of two women were working as bartenders. They were not cited.
Ford approached police and asked if there was a problem. Jankowski asked Ford if he was in charge and Ford responded "Kind of, I guess." Ford's first name and cell phone number were on the flier as a contact person.
Ford acknowledged to police that he had no permits for the party and they explained the city's private club ordinance. Kelly said in his report that the party was open to the public, no liquor permit had been obtained and a money was being collected at the door.
Police seized $318 from Ford's wallet and $600 from his pants pocket. The officers took photos of the building and the liquor bottles.
A man working as manager of the bar acknowledged to police that it has no liquor permit. He said it has always been up to whomever rents the hall to secure the needed permits.
The rental hall on Francisca, site of The Aristocrat, has a dance license that expires in December.