UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - Stephen Patterson says he never sold alcohol to minors and is being unfairly targeted by the Utica Police Department. Patterson was arrested early Saturday morning, after police say they busted a party that had 100 minors in attendance.

Friday night, Utica Police arrested 46-year-old Stephen Patterson and business partner Willie Walker for allegedly hosting an underage drug and drinking party at the bar, located at 315 Nichols Street in Utica.

Stephen Patterson tells NEWSChannel 2 that he never sold or served alcohol to minors at Pistol Pete's bar on Nichols Street. Patterson says Pistol Pete's is not a bar, but rather a social club. He says he has never had a liquor license and Friday night's party was a private function that he had nothing to do with.

He says that he frequently lets groups use the property at 315 Nichols Street for parties and get-togethers and does not allow any illegal activity to take place.

Patterson says he feels that the Utica Police have been unfairly targeting him and his business. Prior to being arrested, he filed a lawsuit against the City of Utica because of the constant harassment that he feels that he has been receiving from the city and police.

Utica Police Chief Dan LaBella says there were reports of kids as young as 14 years old consuming alcohol at Pistol Pete's on Friday.

He says Patterson's claims are without merit. LaBella says UPD has responded to 177 calls at 315 Nichols Street since the beginning of the year. He says many times, there have been parties happening there until 5:00 in the morning.

LaBella says that Patterson is not the target of police harassment.

Patterson has had his own battles with the City of Utica in the past and is the former city's Department of Public Works Commissioner. He was fired from that position as in the late 1990s. He had worked under both the Hanna and Julian administrations.

A year after his firing, Patterson filed a lawsuit against the city claiming the administrations violated his constitutional due process rights. Leon Koziol, Patterson's attorney, claimed that his client lost up to $3 million in wages, reputation and suffered emotionally, physically and financially because of his termination.

Patterson was first awarded $330,000 in June 2004. That was eventually reversed because he could not prove that he suffered loss of reputation under former Mayor Hanna. The second court of appeals found that while Hanna was not liable for discrimination against Patterson, the Mayor Julian administration was. On August 20, 2004, Patterson was awarded $225,000 in the City of Utica's second largest civil rights judgment.