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Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesBar Linked to DPNR's Tapia Could Have License Revoked

Bar Linked to DPNR's Tapia Could Have License Revoked

Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs officials are planning to crack down on the owners of a bar in Estate Contant on St. Thomas that was recently linked to former Planning and Natural Resources Enforcement Director Roberto Tapia, the agency’s head said Tuesday.

In an interview with the Source, DLCA Commissioner Wayne Biggs said the license of the bar Ine’s Place is delinquent and the agency is in the process of conducting an administrative hearing to find out what’s going on.

Tapia was arrested in May and accused of smuggling cocaine, and he pleaded guilty last month in federal district court to racketeering by using DPNR as a criminal drug trafficking enterprise. A recent report in the V.I. Daily News indicates that Tapia was illegally operating the bar on government-owned land, which the Source has been unable to confirm.

Speaking Tuesday, Biggs said that from DLCA’s standpoint, the bar is legally licensed, though Tapia could be operating as a "silent partner."

"The info that we have on hand says that the establishment is legally licensed to someone else," Biggs said. "My understanding otherwise is that there has been coordination between DPNR and Property and Procurement with regards to some of the other issues, which includes the lease and proper permitting."

The Daily News story not only points to a conflict of interest with the lease and unpermitted construction of the bar, but also a failure to pay rent and a questionable loan from the Economic Development Commission, which Tapia had stopped making payments on.

Calls and emails sent to DPNR and Property and Procurement over the last week have not been returned, but Biggs said DLCA is moving to take action on the delinquent license, which is late for renewal. He explained that when renewing a business license, the applicant has to present various documents, such as a tax clearance letter, and that has not yet been done in this case.

"It’s not unusual for licenses to go delinquent as applicants work out some of their issues but, internally, we give people 30 to 60 days to fix the situation and this license is past that deadline now, so we’re in the process of dealing with that on our own."

Officials have said that attempts have been made by both DPNR and Property and Procurement to shut down the bar, but the process has been held up by some matters – such as the need for an eviction notice from the courts – that still have to be resolved.

Tapia, meanwhile, is expected to be sentenced next month in federal District Court.

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