Chelsea licensing commission moves Heller’s Liquors matter to disciplinary hearing after police allege sale to intoxicated patron

The Chelsea Licensing Commission voted to move a complaint about Heller’s Liquors (Unity Beverages, Inc.) at 429 Broadway to a disciplinary hearing after the Chelsea Police Department presented a summary of alleged violations including a suspected sale to an intoxicated person, failure to disperse loiterers, and gaps in video surveillance.

Sergeant Chung read a summary alleging that on March 11 an intoxicated patron was sold alcohol, that the store failed to call police during ongoing conduct, and that the owner’s submitted surveillance footage contained gaps of two to seven minutes. Chung cited specific City of Chelsea licensing regulations that the department believes may have been violated, including requirements that employees read and follow rules (Section 2.02), conspicuous posting of licenses and hours (Section 2.03–2.05), prohibitions on sales to intoxicated persons (Section 2.08), responsibility for the environs of the premises (Section 2.09), and operational video surveillance (Section 2.13). Chung recommended the matter proceed to a disciplinary hearing where incident reports and video evidence would be presented.

Ike Asog, manager of Heller’s Liquors, replied that he provided employee manifests and had tried to comply with prior directives. Asog said the rear door has been locked since 2013 under earlier licensing directions and said gaps in camera footage were motion-sensor artifacts rather than intentional edits. He also said a trainee was working at the time of the March incident and that he briefly left for a doctor’s appointment. Asog said he is taking the department’s requests seriously and has spent money to expand storage for footage.

After discussion, the commission voted to refer the matter for a disciplinary hearing at the commission’s next meeting on May 8. Commissioners asked Asog to continue correcting the issues identified by police and noted that additional formal incident reports and video evidence will be reviewed at the disciplinary hearing. The commission also noted any prior sanctions (a 14‑day suspension in 2013 was referenced during the discussion) would be considered during that proceeding.