City suspends bar's license after stabbing
The Boston Licensing Board yesterday morning closed the South Boston bar where a Revere man was stabbed to death in a weekend brawl.
The board suspended The 6 House's license pending a July 10 hearing, after investigating the bar following the fight, said Dan Pokaski, chairman of the Licensing Board.
The owner will be questioned about the death and also about the business side of the bar, according to Pokaski.
Adam Rich, 26, was killed inside the bar early Sunday morning after a fight broke out among some patrons. Bernard Piscopo, 38, of Dorchester was charged Wednesday in a South Boston court with murder in Rich's death and was ordered held without bail until a hearing July 18.
The state Department of Industrial Accidents also issued fines against the bar Wednesday alleging it does not have a worker's compensation policy in place. Linnea Walsh, agency spokeswoman, said Robert Mahar, who has owned the bar for three years, has appealed and will be fined $250 a day until he shows proof of a policy. A hearing is expected in the following weeks, she said.
Mahar said in a telephone interview that he has always had a worker's compensation policy but mistakenly missed the last payment. He said he plans to make that payment immediately.
Although closing will be a financial strain, he said, he understands why the Licensing Board is investigating. But his bar is not a trouble spot, he said. "The place isn't what they think it is," said Mahar, who also works as a Globe delivery truck driver.
Mahar said he is "heartbroken" about Rich's death and his thoughts go out to the victim's family. "I feel like I lost my own family member," Mahar said. "I'm sick to my stomach over this whole thing." 