Today the administration of Mayor Jorge O. Elorza filed a petition calling on the Providence Board of Licenses to declare void all licenses held by Shark Bar & Grille – the Thayer Street establishment that paid $52,500 in bribes to obtain their licenses in 2008.
“Public corruption at any level of government is unacceptable,” Mayor Elorza said. “I was disturbed to learn that the Providence License Board was used as a platform for bribery. The petition filed today sends a strong message that there will be no tolerance for corruption in our city and I hope the License Board moves swiftly to void the Shark Bar’s license.”
The City filed its petition at today’s meeting of the License Board to have Shark Bar’s licenses declared void dating back to its approval on August 29, 2008. The petition was read into the record and submitted with seven supporting exhibits, including the transcript of Fox’s plea and guilty finding in Federal District Court, and all Federal District Court and other documents regarding the charges and the plea agreement. Copies of the petition and supportive documents will be delivered to the appropriate parties by members of the Providence Police licensing bureau.
The board has not yet picked a date for a show cause hearing.
Last week, former House Speaker Gordon Fox pled guilty to accepting bribes from the owners of Shark Bar in 2008, in exchange for his support of the establishment’s application for a liquor license. Fox was the vice chairman of the License Board at the time.