covina well bar being shut down!

Covina plans to shut down The Well bikini bar
By James Figueroa Staff Writer
Posted: 10/18/2010 04:46:18 PM PDT

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COVINA - The city has started proceedings to shut down The Well, the bikini bar that gained notoriety after a customer was convicted of killing Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart in a DUI crash.

The Well, at 989 San Bernardino Road, faces revocation of its business license and conditional use permits in connection with an illegal gambling operation. Police arrested six employees in an Aug. 31 sting in which the bar was found to be hosting three Texas Hold `Em tables.

The city will begin a public hearing today, but staff members have asked to postpone a decision until November to give them time to gather more information.

The Well is accused of multiple permit violations, many related to gambling. Other grounds for revocation include failing to keep alcohol sales at 35 percent of gross sales, using the property as an "adult cabaret," and using the property as a massage parlor.

Representatives of The Well didn't return a call for comment Monday. Bartenders and servers at the establishment wear bikinis and undergarments, and five women were arrested in August for working as poker dealers.

Alcohol Beverage Control, which cooperated with Covina police in the arrests, have also been reviewing documents related to The Well because of its connection to Andrew Gallo, who was seen drinking there just prior to the early morning April 9, 2009 crash that killed Adenhart and two others.

"ABC is in close contact with the city," spokesman
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John Carr said.

A jury convicted Gallo, 23, of San Gabriel, on Sept. 27 on three counts of second-degree murder for the Fullerton crash that killed rookie pitcher Adenhart, 22, his girlfriend Courtney Frances Stewart, 20, of Diamond Bar, and his friend Henry Pearson, 25.

Jon Wilhite, 24, of Manhattan Beach, survived the crash, but had to have his skull reattached to his spine. Gallo's stepbrother, Raymond Rivera, broke his nose and wrist in the crash.

A videotape from The Well played at the trial shows Gallo and Rivera consuming eight to 10 drinks in the hours before running a red light on Orangethorpe Avenue and slamming into Stewart's Mitsubishi on Lemon Street.

Gallo's blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.19 percent two hours after the collision.


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