Two policemen are accused of running an illegal nightclub

A Boston police officer and a Boston Health Commission campus police officer have been charged with running an illegal Jamaica Plain basement nightclub that offered booze, hookah and a DJ, according to court records and officials.

Prosecutors say Boston Police Officer Richard McDermott and BPHC Campus Officer Luigi D’Addico ran the operation from a space at 360B Center St. that they originally leased for heating and air conditioning work. the company, according to the act on factual circumstances submitted in the case.

Authorities say the men turned the basement into an after-hours nightclub during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The club had bouncers with magnetometers to check patrons for weapons, a cover charge, bottle service where patrons paid over $100 for full bottles of alcohol, hookah service, a DJ providing music, and promoters advertising the club in social networks,” prosecutors said. wrote Authorities said McDermott and D’Addieco did not have a license to sell alcohol.

McDermott was charged with witness intimidation, supporting gambling and using criminal record information under false pretenses. D’Addico was charged with concealing evidence in a criminal proceeding and aiding and abetting gambling, according to the district attorney’s office.

Both men were arraigned Thursday in Suffolk Superior Court, where they pleaded not guilty and were released on personal recognizance. The Suffolk County Prosecutor’s Office said they were charged on October 3.

He reported the charges and details of the alleged operation in the nightclub for the first time MassLive.

Authorities said the nightclub had been open for “several months,” but police spotted it on July 10, 2021, when an argument broke out on the street that led to a man firing multiple shots into the front door, striking a bouncer who was standing outside the door. The bouncer was treated at Boston Medical Center, prosecutors said.

Boston police responded to the shooting with their tactical unit, which stormed the club. Prosecutors said McDermott was one of the last to get out and was recognized by other police officers.

McDermott, who was armed with a handgun, allegedly told officers he was at his brother-in-law’s party and didn’t know what was going on, according to court records. Authorities said McDermott’s statement is misleading because security video allegedly shows McDermott looking into the front door of the club and stepping over blood and broken glass before police arrived.

The video also allegedly shows D’Addieco’s car appear on Central Street after the shooting and park across the street from the club’s main entrance. Allegedly recordings of telephone conversations showed that there were several phone calls between the two the night after the shooting, according to prosecutors.

Authorities say both men gave false statements to detectives during the investigation.

Boston Police Department spokesman Detective Sergeant John Boyle said McDermott was suspended without pay after he was charged earlier this month.

The Boston Health Commission did not return a message seeking comment from D’Addico on Saturday. An Instagram post The commission said in May that it is seeking to hire a campus police officer, and no police training is required.

McDermott’s attorney, John Seed, and D’Addieco’s attorney, Francis Sacco, said they were awaiting disclosure materials from prosecutors.

“He looks forward to his day in court,” Sacco said of his client. Sid declined to comment.

Both are due back in court on January 7.

Nick Stoico can be reached at [email protected].