SAUGUS – The Saugus Police Department sent a notice of demand for records last week to Pamela Avedisian and her attorney Stephen Miller concerning the liquor license held by Avedisian for 60 Salem Turnpike, the site of the old Atlantic Lobster Co.Avedisian purchased the property more than two years ago with the intent of opening a function hall and restaurant, but a series of fires and environmental issues put those plans on hold. The Board of Selectmen are in the process of holding a show cause hearing to revoke the liquor license for non-use. But at a hearing in June, some discrepancies arose as to who is the actual owner of the property.?We?re trying to track down who the owners are and what their intentions are with the licensing that?s going on there and how to move forward,” said Assistant Police Chief Leonard Campanello. “I think they?re under some pressure to use it or they?re going to lose it.”?If they are required to give specific information when they apply to obtain the license, if it?s not correlating with what?s actually out there, that could be a problem as well,” added Campanello.Selectman Scott Crabtree said the notice was sent by the police on behalf of the selectmen and the Alcohol Beverages Control Commission to investigate possible undisclosed ownership.?When you apply for a liquor license, you have to disclose who has ownership and who has financial or any kind of interest in it,” said Crabtree. “They say it?s just (Avedisian) who has an interest in it, so basically from the hearings? some things came out that they changed the property owner and somebody else has been paying the bills.”Dustin DeNunzio, of the DeNunzio Group, a Cambridge-based real estate development company, has been representing Avedisian as property manager and said at the June 9 show cause hearing that he was a part-owner of the property. This took some of the selectmen by surprise.In a phone interview on Friday, DeNunzio said his ownership was a “very minor percentage.”?It?s kind of something where I?ve been working on (the property) for a long time and it was part of what ownership promised me,” said DeNunzio. “Ms. Avedisian is still the primary owner of the property and the liquor license didn?t get sold in any way, shape or form, just the land.”Crabtree, however, said this could potentially be a damaging issue.?From the hearings we?ve had and the documents, it appears that somebody else may have an undisclosed ownership and that?s obviously a pretty serious offense with the board and the ABCC,” said Crabtree.The selectmen will continue the Avedisian show cause hearing on August 16, and DeNunzio said he plans to show the board that he and Avedisian are making progress toward getting the project off the ground.?We?re going to let them know what our status with the DEP is,” said DeNunzio. “We?re moving forward there and we?re committed to moving forward with the project. We?ve just had some unfortunate things hold us up.”
