Barletta draws a bull’s-eye on bar

Hazleton Times // News

Hazleton violence

October 12

La Cantina, site of Saturday shooting, stabbing, scene of gang activity, mayor says.

By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

HAZLETON – Mayor Lou Barletta says he believes a bar at which multiple shots were fired and a man was stabbed early Saturday morning should be shut down.

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“This establishment has been a problem, and I would like to see it get shut down before someone gets killed. I believe there’s been over 10 shootings in a few years connected outside or around this establishment. … ‘Nuisance bar’ is too nice of a term for that bar. It’s a place where gang members go and guns are fired at any time,” Barletta said Sunday.

City police responded to La Cantina Bar on North Wyoming Street at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday for multiple reports of gunshots fired at various areas around that location, according to a police press release.

Police said they received reports that a man produced a gun and began firing into the crowd. It was also reported that several patrons of La Cantina produced handguns and began firing also, police said.

Several live rounds of ammunition and spent shell casings from several areas around the bar were recovered.

Police said several men also engaged in a fight in front of the bar, produced handguns and began striking other men with their weapons. One of the men was also stabbed during the incident.

One of the men involved in the altercation – Bernardo Campusano-Abreu – had previously been arrested by city police on a felony charge of possession of crack cocaine with intent to deliver and had been deported back to the Dominican Republic in June 2006. Abreu illegally returned to the United States about three months ago, police said.

Abreu was charged with providing false identification to law enforcement and he was taken to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility, police said.

The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement was notified and faxed a detainer for Abreu. The federal agency will charge him with re-entering the country after having been convicted of a felony and deported. A conviction carries a minimum of five years in federal prison followed by deportation back to the Dominican Republic, police said.

Police also received reports that several vehicles that fled from the bar traveled the wrong way on one-way streets while patrons at the bar pulled out handguns and began shooting at the vehicles trying to leave. A man was struck by one of the vehicles leaving the scene.

Police said several injuries related to the incident were reported.

Barletta pointed out that a Bloods gang member arrested with seven others on charges of selling crack cocaine and heroin last week had connections to a previous shooting outside the bar.

Herman Ayala, a reputed member of the Sex, Money and Murder Bloods gang set, allegedly told a confidential informant working for federal drug officials that the gang was responsible for a July 4 shooting outside La Cantina, according to court records.

Police are also investigating a single shot fired outside the bar during a fight on Oct. 3.

“It’s a problem. And if it’s not closed down, I feel we’ll be investigating a homicide there. The scene the other night is a scene out of the movies, not out of a small town,” Barletta said.

The mayor said police Chief Robert Ferdinand has been in contact with state police and the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement about the bar.

A woman who identified herself as Stephanie, the bartender/coordinator of the bar, declined to answer questions over the phone Sunday night because, she said, the bar was too noisy and her cell phone battery was about to die. She offered to answer questions at a more convenient time in the future.

Barletta said Abreu’s arrest was particularly “disturbing and frustrating” for him because it’s “another case of the Hazleton police arresting an illegal alien for dealing drugs, he gets deported, comes right back over and ends up in Hazleton where we have to deal with him again.”

The mayor said it’s an issue he brought up to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy and Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Philadelphia, during Congressional hearings on illegal immigration in 2006. The mayor had been asked to testify, given his national celebrity after championing the city’s Illegal Immigration Relief Act, which barred landlords from knowingly renting to illegal aliens and businesses from knowingly hiring them. The act had been struck down as unconstitutional and is under appeal.

“Many (illegal aliens) are not crossing the southern border. They are Dominicans entering illegally through New York and New Jersey and coming down the East Coast,” Barletta said.

“If this guy (Abreu) could figure out how to get into the country so easily, imagine al-Qaida. I’m very frustrated with the federal government and its failure to protect us from people entering our borders illegally. I’m worried about our national security and the cost to communities like Hazleton that deal these people over and over again,” Barletta said.

The mayor said the federal government must crack down on fraudulent identification rings to prevent illegal aliens, especially convicted felons such as Abreu, from re-entering the United States.

“Unfortunately, we have to deal with it after they commit a crime. Who’s to say it won’t happen a third time? I have no confidence it won’t happen again,” he said.

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carol said...

good for you mayor barletta. shut the place down and get rid of the scumb

October 12, 2009 at 5:50 AM

Tony said...

How does a person from the Dominican Republic get here illegally? Don't you have to arrive by airplane? Don't you have to go through Immigration screening? What kind of idiots do we have working in that capacity at these airports? Here we have a guy with a track record as a convicted felon who was previously deported, who is back in this country and committing more crimes. What a broken system!

October 12, 2009 at 6:49 AM

Joey said...

"Many (illegal aliens) are not crossing the southern border. They are Dominicans entering illegally through New York and New Jersey and coming down the East Coast," Barletta said. Nice to know our Government is on the ball. Janet Napolitano was a great pick.

October 12, 2009 at 7:03 AM

Joe said...

Caught as an illegal for felony first time...prison and deportation. Caught a second time....execution. Simple as that!!!

October 12, 2009 at 7:15 AM

S. Burnett said...

This is absolutely disgusting that we have to keep dealing with this trash and Mayor Barletta is 1000% RIGHT ON THE MONEY. People who oppose this don't care until it affects them. Wake up and realize that we are losing our Country, Neighborhoods and just plain peace of mind because of this TRASH AND GARBAGE.

October 12, 2009 at 7:17 AM

Philip G. Pizano said...

The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement should have a Main Office in Hazleton along with the State Police and maybe even the National Guard. The salary of a Policeman is no where near enough to put up with this abuse of the law. When you can't even pull some one over without be called a racist it's time to throw in the towel. When are the rights of the victims and taxpayers here going to be taken into such consideration? You can not expect the Police to handle this obviously out of control situation. The Mayor was even sued for his freedom of speech and trying to do what he thought was right. It is clear you can not blame the Mayor for any of this stuff going on here and now.

October 12, 2009 at 7:56 AM

applepie and beans said...

I think daily shootings attests to the richness of diversity in the area.

October 12, 2009 at 8:16 AM

Afraid said...

I own a business in Hazleton and I am afraid that the Illegal Alien population is taking over. I know of several business owners who have illegals under their employ. I know the Mayor is trying, but something has to be done NOW to go after these employers. Without jobs illegal aliens are likely to move to a place where they can earn a living. I don't know how much longer, I, as a business owner can take it in Hazleton.

October 12, 2009 at 8:21 AM

pg said...

The only way to stop this crime is the police should have the right to shoot to kill with no questions asked. Spending taxpayer money to house these people in jail doesn't work!

October 12, 2009 at 8:28 AM

Bababooey said...

What good will closing the bar do? Keep all the scum in one place and just let them kill each other. Do you think closing this bar will make a difference? Will they just pack up and leave town or will they just go to the next closest bar? I wonder if there is another bar near by that could use a little extra business and if the owner of that bar is a friend of Barletta? Just curious.

October 12, 2009 at 8:41 AM

Santo said...

Lou, please run for Federal or State office again... you got ripped off in 2008 but 2010 will be our year.

October 12, 2009 at 8:55 AM

No Mas said...

And Obama and crew want to give illegals free health care on top of it. Democrats are still refusing to protect our nation from illegal aliens, terrorists and common criminals. I say... GO LOU!

October 12, 2009 at 8:58 AM

Gus said...

I wish Lou Barletta was the mayor of Wilkes Barre.

October 12, 2009 at 9:21 AM

Fleych said...

LA CANTINA? What a lovely city Hazleton has become. Problem is, close one bar, all the gun-toting types will just take their guns somewhere else. A better focus would be ridding the city of the gun-toting types.

October 12, 2009 at 9:44 AM

Tom said...

Kanjorski called Barletta biased when they ran against each other. Hey Paul, Its the truth. Way too many illegals here. My grandparents came from Poland and had to get sponsorship. They worked hard, learned English and never got in trouble.

October 12, 2009 at 10:03 AM

Good Luck said...

what the mayor must understand closing the bar is not the answer because they just find another bar to go .

October 12, 2009 at 10:15 AM

truthbetold said...

Follow-up article requested. WHO: All who supported illegal immigration. WHAT: are their opinions about these crimes committed by illegal immigrants? WHERE: Hazleton. WHEN: if at all, have any participated in combating the crimes? WHY: did the highly publicized, out-spoken supporters become silent?

October 12, 2009 at 10:40 AM

irene said...

A bar was clsd in WB but it was long process.

October 12, 2009 at 11:25 AM

PLOP said...

Meanwhile the LCB is fining underage college students on the square

October 12, 2009 at 12:16 PM

Penaten said...

The problem will not go away they will just take over another bar. Obama is not for giving illegals health care. they get it now hospital can not turn them away. How often does one have to repeat themselves.

October 12, 2009 at 1:37 PM

mr said...

GO Mayor Barletta! This man has some of the best ideas I have seen come out of a politician in a long time. It amazes me that this illegal was here, caught, deported, and GOT BACK IN OUR COUNTRY! Really? This is absurd. The Immigration office needs to set up camp in Hazleton and clean it out! Everyone who does not live or work here legally should be shipped back to where they came from. They say this country was built by immigrants. Yes it was, hard-working, tax paying, contributing immigrants. Not ones that sneek over here and want everything for nothing. I am sick of them and agree with Mayor Barletta, something needs to be done NOW before it is too late.

October 12, 2009 at 3:01 PM

Frankie said...

Where is the LCB on this one? For once, I agree with the mayor.

October 12, 2009 at 4:13 PM

debsta said...

Hey Lou, I support you all the way. If you ever decide to try to make more changes, and have a rally, you need to have more publicity. Last time, we never heard of any rallys until they were over. Put the word out there & the people who believe in you and what you stand for will be there.

October 12, 2009 at 4:40 PM

Chazz said...

When people in Hazleton have had enough, what do they do? They sell their houses to the kind of people they are trying to get away from. If they stood their ground and didn't let the almighty dollar rule their lives things would be different. All the undesireables move in, the locals move out, just like New Jersey and New York. The only problem is the Hazleton locals don't have the Poconos to move to like the Jerseyites did. Stand your ground and don't let bad people take over your neighborhood.

October 12, 2009 at 4:41 PM

Robert said...

Hmmmm... lets use the same logic on a larger scale -- the City of Wilkes barre has had shootings, drug use and other crime for years. Lets close the city!

October 12, 2009 at 6:09 PM

Bill Church said...

UNCONSTITUTIONAL ... isnt that a term used by legal citizens of this country UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. I wish someone would explain to me how someone from another country can use OUR laws to protect themselves. Pain in the arse lawyers trying to steal OUR money is part of the problem. Let those attorneys pack their clothes and go back with the illegals and live.

October 12, 2009 at 9:18 PM

frank said...

Just change the name illegal to African American and you can see the predjuice in all these comments. People are afraid of someone who is not like them. Too bad, because this country was founded by people not like them. Get a life and treat people like you would like to be treated. Frank said it!

October 13, 2009 at 12:27 PM

Delaware Bob said...

It's just one thing after another with these illegal aliens. How soon will it be before the courts have their decision so the Mayor can start to enforce his Illegal Immigration Law, and get the illegal aliens out of Hazleton? Illegal aliens are destroying this Country and one would have to have very poor eyesight not to see this. It's time for ZERO TOLERENCE with these ILLEGAL ALIENS. It's time for them get out of this Country and back in their own Country where they belong. When we get rid of the ILLEGAL ALIENS, we will get rid of all the problems that go with them. THAT IS A FACT!

October 13, 2009 at 1:42 PM

Delaware Bob said...

October 13, 2009 at 1:47 PM

carlton perry said...

LET US ALL CELEBRATE DIVERSITY! LET US ELECT LIBERALS TO ALL POLITICAL OFFICES!

October 17, 2009 at 9:31 AM