Mansion at Glen Cove's liquor license suspended after shooting

State officials on Wednesday barred the sale and consumption of alcohol at the Mansion at Glen Cove hotel after three people were shot and wounded at a party held at the pool Sunday.

The State Liquor Authority suspended the liquor license at the onetime Gold Coast estate after charging the business with 10 violations of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law. 

An agency news release announcing the emergency suspension described employees attempting to "mop up blood from the crime scene" and "patrons, employees and promoters throwing boxes of alcohol in their cars and running off with bottles of liquor." The release put the number of party attendees at 150 to 200.    

Violations included operating disorderly premises, operating as a nightclub, failure to obtain the proper permits for an outdoor event with amplified music and handing over control of a licensed business to an unapproved promoter.

The hotel’s manager told police that the Glen Cove Mansion merely provided the venue and that all service and security were the responsibility of the promoters, according to the release. That, SLA officials said, was "an admission that the licensee had relinquished control over the establishment to the unlicensed promoter."

SLA chairman Vincen Bradley said in the release that "this business has failed to uphold their obligation as a licensee, and the Board is taking action to ensure public safety and support local law enforcement."

Mansion owner Willy Wang, also known as Wei Wang in state records, could not be reached Wednesday night. Michael Finkelstein, a Mansion lawyer who spoke Tuesday at a news conference for the business, did not make himself available for an interview. 

Glen Cove Police Lt. John Nagle told Newsday on Wednesday that police were still working to identify a suspect and were making progress in the case. The 5 p.m. Sunday shooting, which left no one seriously wounded, occurred after a fight when a security guard tried to escort someone out of the party, police have said.

According to the SLA release, the shooting occurred as 10 to 12 patrons fought. Mansion director Helen Whitehead said Tuesday staff had turned away the shooter when he "attempted to gain access to the event." Nagle said he would not comment on that assertion. 

Mansion management can contest the SLA charges, which, if substantiated, could lead to a permanent recovation of the business's liquor license. 

Suspension of a liquor license could be "damaging and painful" for a hospitality business' bottom line, said Gary Deel, an adjunct professor of hospitality management at University of Central Florida. 

Without a license, said John Cocklin, former chief investigator for New Jersey's alcohol regulator, "You can't do a party. You can't do the very business that your business plan says how you're gonna make your money. … Suspension can be painful through the point of bankruptcy."

Before the SLA release Wednesday afternoon, Glen Cove Mayor Pam Panzenbeck told Newsday she'd met with Wang.

“There will be no more of those awful parties,” she said. “We had a discussion that those kind of parties are unacceptable, and he agreed to comply with our wishes. … They’ll still have weddings and things like that.” 

She said that Wang had told her he would no longer work with Big Fendi, the party promoter who had organized Sunday’s party. Nobody responded to a text message sent to a number associated with Fendi.

In a text message Wednesday night, Glen Cove councilwoman Marsha Silverman called the liquor license suspension "a step in the right direction." Now, she said, city leaders "need to consider everything possible, such as stricter regulations, to protect our citizens and first responders." 

Potential loss of a liquor license and stricter regulations are not the only headwinds the Mansion faces. Lawyers from the Nassau County Attorney’s Office sued Mansion last year, alleging in Nassau County Court that management had failed to pay more than $30,000 in hotel occupancy taxes. They asked for at least $100,000 in damages. 

Lawyers for management asked that the suit be dismissed in a January filing. The case is ongoing, according to records. 

With Matthew Chayes and James T. Madore