'No just cause' to shut liquor store, Bellmawr decides

The Bellmawr Borough Council voted Thursday to renew the liquor license of Johnnies Liquors, the West Browning Road store implicated, along with a coin laundry across the street, in a May 26 drug bust that targeted two trafficking networks.

"So we don't end up in a lawsuit costing us thousands of dollars, reluctantly, yes," Councilman James D'Angelo said when asked for his vote.

The decision disappointed the protesters who have sought for weeks to shut down the businesses. The small group of residents has regularly stood outside the store and sometimes the laundry in an effort to deter patrons.

The liquor store's three owners were charged with one count of possession and intent to distribute oxycodone, with an additional charge of doing so in a school zone. Two others also were charged, including an employee of the laundry.

In a meeting last week, the mayor and council discussed plans to table a vote on renewing the liquor license, which in effect would have suspended it.

But officials said they changed their plans on the advice of Police Chief Bill Walsh. He explained that because the store's owners have not been convicted, there is "no just cause" for suspension.

"I just have to have faith that the police know what they're doing," protester Don Riebel said. Riebel and others have called on the borough to suspend the store's license.

Mayor Frank Filipek said Thursday that renewing the license was the best option available. Highlighting the importance of letting the investigation take its course, he said the town was "doing everything possible by law."

"It's tough for me to be on the phone listening to people telling me that I don't care," Filipek said, referring to complaints from residents who do not believe he is invested in the issue. "You know what? I can't be picketing. If you want it done the right way, you let the people who know what they're doing handle it."

"They'll either plead guilty or go to court," he said.

"We'll be out there every day until it's done," responded Riebel's wife, Bobbie Lynn, who has protested outside the store nearly every day since the drug bust.

The state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control said it is investigating the store's owners, but it generally does not take action until the conclusion of a criminal trial.

The protesters, many of whom have watched loved ones endure drug addictions, have stood outside Johnnies nearly since the drug bust. On Tuesday, the regulars were joined by more than 20 additional advocates, including Councilman Dave Spector. The group stood outside both stores for more than two hours, waving colorful signs and passing out literature about addiction and treatment.

Blake Zetusky, a kindergarten teacher in Audubon, who pushed her 1-year-old son, Christopher, in a stroller as she handed out leaflets, said she had come to try to spare other families the pain hers had felt. Zetusky lost her brother Sal Marchese to drug addiction in 2010.

Also present were several recovering addicts, who emphasized the importance of spreading awareness. "If nobody says anything about [addiction], more people will die," said Damian Barnes, 41, who now lives in West Deptford.

eplatoff@philly.com

856-779-3917 @emmaplatoff