Health director: More fines on way if Saugus tobacco shop reopens

SAUGUS – Saugus Public Health Director Frank Giacalone said he never received a notification for a show cause hearing and vowed to issue new fines if a local roll-your-own tobacco club re-opens.”We have a couple of options here,” said Giacalone. “I could ask to be re-heard with a hearing, but since the fee was only dismissed, and we still have our current regulation that bans roll-your-own machines, if Mr. Marino decided to reopen, I will go down there and issue a new fine. If he chooses the process of going to a hearing then I will make darn sure I am there to attend.”Anthony Marino opened the MYO Club on Route 1 last month, which he said is a private club where members can roll their own cigarettes using tobacco they purchase themselves. After Giacalone issued a pair of $200 fines earlier this month, one for sale or distribution of tobacco without a permit and one for use of a restricted roll-your-own machine, Marino filed for a show cause hearing in Lynn District Court.When town officials failed to show, the clerk dismissed the fines. Giacalone said he never received any notification of the hearing.”I knew from the prior article he was going to file a show cause,” said Giacalone. “I never received notification; therefore, I didn’t know to attend. When I give a citation out ? it’s mailed to Town Hall and that I believe is where it was mailed to, but not to my attention.”Giacalone also clarified that while the fines were dropped, the violations still stand.”They don’t have the authority to dismiss the violation,” he said. “But because there was no representation from the town, the clerk dismissed the fee.”Giacalone said the Board of Health will discuss at its June 4 meeting amending the town’s new tobacco regulations. According to the regulations, “all commercial roll-your-own machines are prohibited.”Giacalone wants this updated to say, “all non-residential roll-your-own machines are prohibited.””The intent has always been to ban these machines outright, except for strictly home use,” he said. “We’re confident in what we wrote ? When we changed the regulations, it was meant to ban roll-your-own cigarettes. Regardless of what Mr. Marino thinks he’s reading, in our conversation I was clear that this was the intent and it covers businesses, or non-profits or private clubs.”Giacalone also said it’s “coincidental” that the issue with the MYO Club came up at about the same time as the proposal to amend the regulation.”Our tobacco control director, Joyce Redford, had mentioned that the federal regulations had amended the definition for this purpose,” he said. “We’re not changing it because of this issue that came up. (Marino) is looking and reading his regulations very well, but before he decides to go into these communities, he should check out what their regulations are.”Marino has emphasized that he doesn’t sell tobacco at the club, but members pay a fee to hang out there and roll their own cigarettes using tobacco bought on their own.Giacalone said the change to the regulations will be discussed in a public hearing at the next Board of Health meeting on June 3 at 6:15 p.m. at the Saugus Library.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].