Hearing for Hotel California liquor permit continues downtown Friday

YOUNGSTOWN

Attorneys and witnesses will reconvene downtown today as the liquor permit hearing for Hotel California in Austintown continues.

Day two of the hearing is set for 9 a.m. in the basement of the

Mahoning County Courthouse, 120 Market St.

Assistant county prosecutors Dawn Durkin and Gina Bricker, representing Austintown Township and Mahoning County, focused Thursday on businessman Sebastian Rucci’s past with the Go Go Girls Cabaret and his relationship with Atty. James Vitullo, whose business, Vitullo Investments LLC, is on the liquor license for Hotel California.

Hotel California is at 1051 N. Canfield-Niles Road, previous site of the troubled cabaret.

Attorneys David Raber and Jeff Kurz, representing Vitullo, focused on Rucci’s winning all of his Go Go cases on appeal, except for one pending in Mahoning County Area Court in Austintown, where Rucci was found guilty early this year of illegal sales and keeper of place/beer or liquor sold illegally and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.

Both the Austintown Township trustees and Mahoning County commissioners filed objections to the liquor license sought by Vitullo Investments LLC, which led to the ongoing hearing.

Vitullo’s attorneys argued that Hotel California had an occupancy permit, issued through Mahoning County, for an open house that was stopped earlier this week for not having one. Austintown Trustee Jim Davis explained that fire department officials said the county permit was not applicable anymore due to new construction at the hotel and redesigning of rooms.

Another point of contention was the changing of the addresses. Durkin and Bricker explained that under Hotel California’s previous life, Economy Inn and Suites with the Go Go Girls Cabaret, the cabaret was 5455 Clarkins Drive and the hotel was 1051 N. Canfield-Niles Road. Now Club Cali, where the Funny Farm comedy club has relocated to and where the Go Go was, is listed at 1051 N. Canfield-Niles and Hotel California is listed at 5455 Clarkins. The addresses were flipped, prosecutors pointed out.

Davis said of Rucci and Vitullo: “I would object continually to one of those two operating an establishment.”

Read more about the case in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.