The police report referred to in this writer’s column Sunday (see below) about a fight in a bar on Mahoning Avenue reads like a script from the popular HBO series “The Sopranos.”
No charges have been filed, which is why the identities of those involved and the name of the establishment are being withheld by this writer. But even without that information, the Youngstown police report makes for interesting reading.
According to the report, the fight was over Tic Tac Fruit machines and the bar owner’s decision not to continue having them in his place. Why? Because the operator of the machines reportedly wanted the bar to pay off winners in cash, rather than food vouchers.
After being told of the ban, the operator of the machines allegedly responded thus:
“F--- you, you made a big f------ mistake, I’m going to put you in the ground. Your’re going down. Your bar’s going down, your family.”
The operator was accompanied by two other men, one using a baseball bat to keep employees and patrons at bay while the other “ripped the flat screen 37” Vizio television off the wall and attempted to fling it” at an employee.
The trio fled westbound on Mahoning Avenue with the Vizio television in a Black Chevy Tahoe.
It’s not known whether charges will be filed, or what the status of the investigation is today, but the situation is serious enough that it should attract the attention of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
Tic Tac Fruit machines and other so-called games of skill are regulated by state law, which is enforced by the attorney general.