Marblehead hotspot suspected of overserving patrons; could face one-week suspension of liquor license

MARBLEHEAD – A month after Maddie?s Sail Loft was punished with a two-day suspension of its liquor license, the popular night spot will be back before selectmen tonight for a hearing on another alleged license violation n and this time Maddie?s could be dry for a week.This time Maddie?s is charged with overserving a customer. The hearing will be at 8:15. Selectmen said a month ago that if the bar came before the board again they would support a five-seven-day suspension. Town Counsel Marc Miller will oversee the hearing.The latest incident occurred Tuesday, July 3, six days after the last board hearing. Patrolmen Christopher Gallo said in a police report he and two other officers took two men into protective custody for drunkenness after they were found in a flower bed at the Lee Mansion at 3:30 a.m.One of the men said he was drinking at home and later at Maddie?s and after closing time a bartender took both men downstairs and drank with them after hours. They then went to the bartender?s apartment next door to the Lee Mansion for a nightcap and were on their way home when the second man became incapacitated.The second man was taken directly to a cell. The man who spoke with police blew a .270 score on the breathalyzer, more than three times the legal limit. The identity of the men was withheld because they were not arrested and the town cannot identify them without violating their privacy rights.John Tangusso, the Salem lawyer who took over Maddie?s more than a year ago, could not be reached for comment.The “authentic” State Street food and drink spot once named one of the Top 10 sailing bars in the world by Sailing Magazine has been watched by police recently due to noise complaints.Tangusso said last month that the two bartenders who worked May 25 resigned the day he found out about the incident and he could not question them about it, nor could he question the man police took into custody because his identity was withheld.Tangusso also told selectmen that his wait staff, bartenders and managers all had TIPS training and he put them on warning since May 25 that if they are connected to any overserving incident they will be terminated.?We will work on the noise,” he promised, noting that state laws banning smoking in bars drove the smokers outside for a cigarette, and during the summertime many State Street neighbors have their windows open.