Local bar’s closure reveals flawed enforcement system
It’s not so clear how The Crystal has stayed open for the past few years.
Despite a 2008 suspension due to a failure to pay excise taxes, the bar continued to sell alcohol. State liquor enforcement agents discovered that fact this past weekend, leading to The Crystal’s indefinite closure.
It is astounding how this situation went unnoticed for almost three years. But once one goes deeper, it is easy to discover that this was a massive failure of the system.
There was no enforcement of the 2008 suspension. The Crystal continued to sell alcohol without any repercussions because no one filed a complaint.
Instead of enforcing suspensions, the Ohio Department of Public Safety relies on a complaint-based system. If a bar should not be selling alcohol, it could continue to do so until someone complains. That system is just completely nonsensical.
First, there has to be some state agency checking on this. It has to be someone’s job to review liquor-license suspensions or collect taxes. If it isn’t, then someone needs to get on it right away; otherwise, suspensions have no purpose and back taxes will just continue to mount.
Ohio is facing an $8 billion deficit. A spokesman for the Ohio Attorney General’s office said The Crystal owes only about $19,000 based on interest and fees, but officials were unsure of the original debt amount — another troubling revelation.
We wonder how many businesses throughout the state have not paid back taxes — money that could help alleviate the deficit. The lax enforcement might have cost Ohio millions.
Second, if a liquor license is suspended, local law enforcement or a local government agency should be informed. That would lessen the burden on the state agency and possibly lead to better enforcement.
If only The Crystal had a crystal ball, it might have foreseen the hole it dug itself into and not revealed such a flawed system.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post’s executive editors.
