Gunfire erupted early yesterday morning at the King Arthur lounge during a fight. Jeff Santiago, 28, of Everett was killed.
(George Rizer/Globe Staff)
CHELSEA - As patrons and employees scrambled for safety, a man opened fire during a fight inside a notorious strip club early yesterday morning, killing one man and wounding two others, authorities said.
Police Chief Brian A. Kyes said in an interview that the shooting occurred at 12:30 a.m. after a physical altercation inside the King Arthur's Lounge on Beacham Street. As shots rang out, 25 to 50 patrons and employees dived to the floor, he said.
The deceased was identified by Kyes and Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley's office as 28-year-old Jeff Santiago, who was living in Everett. Kyes said it was not immediately clear whether Santiago was part of the fight that preceded the gunfire.
Kyes and Jake Wark, Conley spokesman, both said the investigation was "extremely active," but no arrests were made by last night. A 29-year-old Everett man was wounded in the upper thigh, and a 41-year-old Charlestown man was shot in the calf. Both are expected to survive, said officials, who declined to identify them.
A woman who answered the door at Santiago's home yesterday said the family was reeling from the news of his death and declined to comment.
The bar reopened later yesterday. King Arthur's was preparing to transfer its liquor license at a hearing Tuesday before the city's Licensing Commission.
The longtime owner of the lounge and motel, Arthur Guttadauro, died recently, and his estate is trying to transfer the license to his son, Stephen, according to the business's attorney, Richard Clayman.
Clayman said management at the lounge has cooperated fully with investigators. "I don't think there is any allegation of wrongdoing on the part of King Arthur's," he said.
City Manager Jay Ash said in an interview yesterday that he has urged the Licensing Commission to push back the transfer hearing until police can give a detailed account of management's role in the investigation.
Ash said that employees have helped investigators and that their continued cooperation could be a factor in determining whether the license is transferred.
City records show bar management was brought in for a conference with the commission in 2004 in response to concerns about prostitution in the area, according to Ash, but no discipline was taken. He said management was also before the board in 2002 concerning a fight in the club, but the board took no disciplinary action then either.
According to records from the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission supplied by Ash, however, the bar was fined $7,000 in March for serving an underage patron. When the fine was paid, a five-day suspension was lifted, according to records.
The bar was the scene of a brawl on July 23, 1982, that began with an argument between Alfred J. Mattuchio and off-duty Everett police Officer John McLeod. The officer left the lounge, then returned with several other police officers, armed with nightsticks, baseball bats, and tire irons, according to news reports. They attacked a dozen patrons and employees, and Vincent J. Bordonaro was beaten to death.
Four Everett officers were indicted in the death. One was acquitted; McLeod and another former officer are serving life sentences for second-degree murder; and the fourth was released after serving several years for manslaughter, according to newspaper accounts.
John Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
