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New details emerge in fatal beating outside Boston nightclub

E-mail|Link August 25, 2009 03:23 PM

By John R. Ellement, Maria Cramer, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

Jose Alicea refused to back down, standing steadfast with a friend outside a Back Bay nightclub last week, surrounded by a dozen irate men. Everyone had just left 33 Restaurant & Lounge, and the nightclub's staff urged Alicea and his friend to walk away in the face of overwhelming danger, according to testimony today at City Hall.

Jose Alicea, the beating victim, posed with his girlfriend, Aida Bene, at a baby shower for their child.

"They weren't having it," said Brian Jacobs, director of security for the nightclub in testimony before the Boston Licensing Board. "They were standing their ground."

The 12 men Alicea faced down were all members of a violent street gang, according to three Boston officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak about the investigation. The group -- many of whom wore matching black tuxedos with red vests -- had come from the funeral of another member of their gang, according to the officials.

Moments later Alicea lay unconscious and bleeding on Columbus Avenue with a massive head injury that would cost the 22-year-old his life. The 12 men have pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from his death.

Today at City Hall, Jacobs and several witnesses testified under oath as the owners of the nightclub asked city regulators today to allow them to reopen their doors after remaining closed for several days while police investigated the fatal beating. Two city regulators -- the Boston Licensing Board and the Mayor’s Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing -- took the reopening request under advisement. The Boston Licensing Board, which regulates liquor licenses, is scheduled to vote on the measure on Wednesday.

Thursday is Latin Night at 33 Restaurant & Lounge and Alicea was described by bar staff as a regular. The owner, Greg F. Den Herder, testified that about 30 people, some wearing the same tuxedos, arrived in two limousines between 11 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. Staff eventually learned the men – and at least two women – were wearing the tuxedos with red accents because it was the same outfit their friend was buried in.

“It was a very nice night,’’ Herder said. “They were very peaceful people, relaxing, enjoying their friends.’’

Police and bar staff testified that the violence broke out at 2:25 a.m. on Friday and occurred entirely outside the club on Stanhope Street. The alleged attack took place down the block from 33 Restaurant & Lounge, near the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Cahners Place, witnesses said. Bar staff testified that they called 911 and alerted arriving police that the suspects were all sitting inside a limousine. Police surrounded the limousine and kept everyone inside while witnesses identified the alleged participants in the beating.

Sergeant Detective Daniel Keeler testified, however, that security at the nightclub should have known that the alleged attackers might have been in a gang because so many of them were dressed the same. The tuxedos with red accents should have been warning to the nightclub of the potential for trouble.

"To suggest that these people were part of a wedding party -- I find it absurd," Keeler told the board. “There has to be a level of responsibility here by the licensee."

Keeler would not say what gang the men belonged to or provide evidence of their gang membership. The Suffolk district attorney's office will examine what if any role gangs played in the beating. "The possibility of gang affiliation is a point of inquiry in all urban crime,’’ said Jake Wark, spokesman for District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. "It remains under investigation in Mr. Alicea’s death as well."

Over the objections of an attorney for the nightclub's owner, Keeler also told the board about another conflict that involved patrons from 33 Restaurant & Lounge. Two weeks ago an argument that began inside the club spilled outside, Keeler said. Shots were fired.

Police chased and arrested a suspect, who had in his possession a Glock handgun stolen from the Boston Police Department in 1995, Keeler testified. The suspect in that case was also a known gang member, Keeler said.

The attorney for the nightclub, Stephen Miller, and his staff repeatedly insisted that Keeler was blaming 33 Restaurant & Lounge for an incident that was the responsibility of another Boston nightclub.