Zucca bar owners surrender liquor licence
Bar raided in November, owners face drug charges
January 06, 2010
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/698159
The owners of the Zucca Bar on James Street North, already facing charges in a Hamilton police drug raid last fall, have surrendered the bar’s liquor licence.
The owners voluntarily gave up the licence at an Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) hearing Dec. 21.
The hearing was ordered after Zucca owners Carlo Fazzari, his brother Armando Fazzari and Ron Faria were arrested in the bar during the raid Nov. 27.
AGCO inspectors who participated in the raid immediately suspended the bar's licence and set a date for the subsequent hearing.
Hamilton police said today the AGCO accepted the licence surrender. That means the bar can no longer sell alcohol.
The trio of owners are facing charges following the raid which wrapped up a three-month undercover operation at the tavern during which vice and drug officers bought cocaine inside the bar near Barton Street.
"Undercover officers were able to enter the Zucca Bar and purchase small amounts of cocaine" directly from one of the owners, Hamilton police Inspector Dan Kinsella said at the time.
Heavily armed tactical officers along with High Enforcement Action Team and vice and drug squad cops executed raids at the bar and one of the bar owner's homes on Picton Street East.
Police found six ounces of cocaine at the home along with marijuana.
They also found cocaine at the Zucca Bar hidden in a can of coffee beans in a cabinet behind the bar. The coffee was being used to mask the smell of the cocaine, Kinsella said.
They also found a 32-calibre Derringer two-shot pistol and seized more than $13,000 in cash.
In total, the raids netted around $21,000 worth of cocaine and around $1,500 worth of pot.
The Zucca Bar had been the focus of previous police investigations, including in 2005 when someone smashed its plate glass window and firebombed it with a Molotov cocktail.
Police also raided Carlo Fazzari's home on Picton Street East where they found a solid brick of cocaine with a stamp on it.
Carlo Fazzari, 34, was charged with two counts of trafficking cocaine, possession of cocaine and marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, pot cultivation, crime proceeds and several prohibited weapons charges.
Armando Fazzari, 45, of Hamilton, was charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking and prohibited weapons charges.
Ronald Faria, 36, has been charged with firearm offences.
All three have been released on bail.
A 29-year-old woman arrested at the Picton home was charged with drug possession for the purpose of trafficking, crime proceeds and pot cultivation.