The revelation earlier this week that the Louisiana Office of Alcohol Tobacco Control (ATC) was lax in allowing the issuance of alcohol licenses to the wife of a felon has led to disclosure of another license issued to a Baton Rouge individual caught up in a high profile trial in Atlanta involving a well-known strip club with ties to the Gambino crime family and which was frequented by several NBA basketball players and singer Madonna.
As in the case of the New Orleans licenses, the license for the new owners of the North Gate Tavern right outside the LSU gates on West Chimes Street in Baton Rouge was issued to the relative of a man with a felony record, which is against the law in Louisiana as well as several other states.
Such practice is officially known as interposing on behalf of another in an attempt to obtain licenses.
Records obtained from ATC show that Ralph Goodman, 83, applied for the North Gate Tavern on Dec. 27 but observers say in reality, the club is run by Ralph Goodman’s son, Lyle Goodman. Ralph Goodman, who has no background in running night clubs, was a tool salesman from Brooklyn.
Lyle Goodman was among 17 defendants in the Atlanta Gold Club trial, charged with credit card fraud. He eventually accepted a plea bargain on a felony count of failure to report credit card fraud and was sentenced to three years of federal probation.
Lyle Goodman worked for his cousin Steve Kaplan at the Atlanta Gold Club that federal prosecutors said was a moneymaking operation for the Gambino family. NBA stars Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers star Reggie Miller each were said to have accepted sexual favors from dancers at the club.
Kaplan pleaded guilty to racketeering and surrendered ownership of the Gold Club. Goodman next showed up in Philadelphia where he worked as a “consultant” for a new strip club in 2001. As with the Baton Rouge club, Lyle Goodman’s father Ralph Goodman was the applicant for the liquor license for that club, Philadelphia records show.
While it is not immediately clear what happened with the 12,000 square foot Philadelphia strip club, Lyle and Ralph Goodman have now popped up in Baton Rouge where Lyle Goodman now runs a much smaller club under his father’s license, issued by ATC.
ATC, it appears, conducted little to nothing in the way of a background check on the Goodmans before issuing the license.
On the questionnaire that Ralph Goodman completed for his application there was a question which asked, “Is this application being made by you to permit any person other than yourself to secure a beer/liquor permit in your name for his/her benefit?”
Ralph Goodman checked “No” to the question.
In the New Orleans cases in which the wife of a convicted felon applied—and got—licenses from ATC, the person who complained was told by ATC Commissioner Troy Hebert that his office did not conduct background investigations. Hebert told the complainant, the person from whom the felon, Omar Hamdan, purchased the stores and which businesses subsequently were granted licenses, that applications are accepted by ATC “on the honor system.”
Title 26:80 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, however, says nothing about any such “honor system.”
Not only does the statute prohibit the issuance of a license to a convicted felon or his spouse, it also says that ATC “shall require a background investigation by means of fingerprint checks by the office of state police and the FBI of each applicant…”
It also says that all fingerprints “shall be available for use by the office of state police and for transmittal to the FBI for a national criminal history record check. The information obtained from the national criminal history record check conducted pursuant to this Section may be used by the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control to determine the applicant’s eligibility for an alcoholic beverage permit.”
One of the witnesses against Kaplan and Kyle Goodman was a former employee named John Givens who testified that he sliced off a man’s ear for the mob.
“”Yeah, Givens worked for me at the Gold Club,” Lyle Goodman said in an interview after his trial, “and he testified he cut a guy’s ear off. But how was I supposed to know what he did with his social time?”
Hebert never responded to an interview request by LouisianaVoice.
Ah yes, the Gambino family’s contribution to economic development within Louisiana. They are after all, job creators, as the Jindalator would state. As for Hebert, he’s too busy removing his boots from the backside of present and previous employees, to run a background check, as in fingerprints of applicants in any database. All that paperwork, so little time between social media facebook, twitter, lunch with his attorney, purchasing new boots, checking in/or with his boss, reading Louisiana voice to his employees for training purposes, court appearances, tiring, I expect. How many agents is he down to now? Saving the taxpayers all that money by cutting jobs. The impeccable life of a working Louisiana politican.
Very well written Mrs. Monju.
Incredible. So now we have the mob in Baton Rouge?
You say that as if the mob hasn’t always been a significant presence in south Louisiana…
Seems like Troy would spend more time doing background checks on applicants for liquor licenses than he has on journalists. It makes one wonder…
“Well now, isn’t that special” – The Church Lady
It’s a shame he ran off all the trained investigators that actually had experience in dealing with these types of situations.
Were those investigators really lazy?
Or were they intentionally run off so that there would be no experienced and competent agents left.
WHY is Hebert looking the other way and allowing this to happen?
You never had these problems when Murphy Painter was the Commissioner.
I wonder why?
A change of hands! If Hebert can surround himself with people that don’t know what they’re doing, he looks good by pointing the finger. But wait, Did Jindal not make him accountable for ATC! The future awaits….
Hebert did what he set out to do, you are right, The DeepThinker.
It’s all about the big money. I read an article last week where the State Police Colonel talks about doing more with less. That’s the creed Lil Troy has adopted with the ATC. Can we really afford doing more with less as Lil Troy sees it? I agree about Lil Troy running off the experienced investigators. Who would want to stay with this monster except those that have been there a while?
One other observation, The huge reduction in the number of tickets issued during Mardi Gras is due to the lack of enforcement agents and due to the money going to the ATC for Hebert to abuse (rims for his vehicle, etc.). Why feed the monster when the monster feeds off of his subordinates?
I see.
So it is more important to purchase a synthetic marijuana sniffing dog that isn’t trained to sniff out synthetic marijuana than it is to have the personnel to fulfill ATC’s mission statement.
Does anyone know what the “Job Description” for being A Commissioner of ATC is? Does A Goven’r appoint someone without experience to be A Commissioner of A State Agency without telling and/or giving him A Job Description? I’m pretty sure there was one at one time ago….
Tom, would you know or find out?
Again Tom you’ve done a great job!! It is mind boggling to think that with all of the things you’ve pointed out through your own investigation and tenacity, that the lamestream media has done nothing but run with evil little troy’s press releases without question. Keep up the great work and thank you for having the backbone to continue to point out the wrong doings of this regime. One day all of these unethical, immoral and law breaking individuals will have to answer for the way they have conducted themselves. In this life or the next, they will have to answer!!!
It is mentioned in this “Post” about an “Honor System”. Did the Governor appoint the Commissioner of ATC based upon an “Honor System”?
So, is the little man so inept that due to ignorance, ATC is in the toilet…….
Or compliciant in a broader scheme to allow the alcohol industry to do as they will, with no system of checks in place…….
That is an excellent question!
I heard today that Lil Troy is purchasing another k-9 “speciality” dog at the tax payers expense. FOR WHAT???? What has the other dog done to make him want 2? Lil Troy needs to wake up and realize the only real cop on his level is the man that’s going to kick his butt out of his position. Director Penouilhi is playing the game perfectly. Just being patience is the key. Hang in there Val. The prize is almost yours.
Maybe Hebert wants to put his Great Dane on the payroll.
I think every one is making a big deal about this place iv been there, its SAFE for LSU peopple. they are strict on checking ID’S and as far as i can tell they are all about BRPD and LSU PD. people cant change their past and i think in a city that needs money and a safe spot we should suport this club!
You have somehow managed to completely miss the point of the story.
Whether one can change his past or not is immaterial when it comes to what the law says.
State law prohibits issuing a license to someone with a felony conviction and state law prohibits someone obtaining a licences in his or her name so that a convicted felon may operate an establishment he otherwise would be unable to obtain a license to operate.
And the applicant, in this case the owner’s father, misrepresented the truth by check the “no” box to the question that asked if he was applying for the license for someone else to run the club.
Obviously you are a student at either LSU or ULL.