Local attorney takes on battle against city in Pistol Pete's case
Story Created:
Feb 8, 2010 at 5:00 PM EST
Story Updated:
Feb 8, 2010 at 5:15 PM EST
UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - A local attorney has decided to represent Stephen Patterson, the former City of Utica Public Works Commissioner, in his latest legal battle.
Patterson has more than 30 charges against him in connection to the nightclub Pistol Pete's, and now attorney Leon Koziol will be representing Stephen Patterson, taking up the case Monday morning.
Previously, Patterson said he couldn't find any attorney in the area to help him deal with the many charges against him stemming from problems at Pistol Pete's.
Koziol said Patterson's legal troubles are just the latest in a long line of problems with the City of Utica. Koziol said Pistol Pete's isn't the first club Patterson has operated that the City of Utica has shut down.
In Fall 2009, Utica Public Safety Commissioner Daniel LaBella said that Paterson had a history of not following the law.
"This establishment is open until 5 a.m. in the morning...you have to control what goes on in yoru establishment," LaBella said. "It's that simple."
Patterson has operated four clubs in three years, all of them catering to the African-American community, and all of them have been shut down by the city because of codes violations.
Koziol said Patterson has been found not-guilty on numerous charges in the past, and he expects the same outcome this time around. Koziol believes the city is unfairly targeting Stephen Patterson.
"Which has to be the most extensive I've ever seen in my 23 years as an attorney," Koziol said. "I've never seen so many codes charges, penal charges all in one person."
Koziol said it will take him months to go through all of the charges against Stephen Patterson, and he will have to file motions to separate the charges against Patterson from other parties involved in the case.
There are more than 30 charges against Patterson - a combination of code violations, penal law violations, and liquor law violations.
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