SANTA PAULA : Bar Owner Denied New Liquor License
The Santa Paula City Council rejected on Monday a Main Street bar owner’s appeal for a permit to sell beer and wine, saying police records show the establishment has been the scene of crime, including narcotics deals and violent disturbances.
By a unanimous vote, the City Council said the owner of La Hacienda would not be allowed to reopen the bar, based on the advice of law enforcement officials, who said that confidential informants logged 33 narcotics violations inside the bar from 1987 to 1989.
Bar owner Manuel Magana, who has not been charged, denied all the claims, calling them unsubstantiated.
Police Chief Walter H. Adair told the City Council at a public meeting Monday night that Magana was at the center of many transactions, including a deal with drug dealers in Los Angeles and a drug lord in South America.
“Mr. Manuel Magana offered to obtain, furnish or assist in obtaining three kilograms of cocaine to a confidential informant being operated by sheriff’s narcotics detectives,” Adair told the council.
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