Palatine store loses liquor license because owner stole competitor’s booze

Community Food Mart owner Muhammad Amjad doesn’t deny that he stole thousands of dollars worth of alcohol from a nearby Palatine liquor store in order to resell it at his own business.

But his admission, statements of remorse and promises he’ll never do it again weren’t enough to sway Palatine officials into giving Amjad a second chance.

Palatine’s Local Liquor Control Committee voted 3 to 0 on Friday to revoke the liquor license held by Community Food Mart, located at 2393 N. Hicks Road, and impose the maximum $1,000 fine.

“This is not a situation where a rogue employee or manager has committed these acts,” Village Attorney Patrick Brankin said. “This is the proprietor himself.”

Amjad’s attorney, Jerome Pinderski, filed a notice of intent to appeal, which allows liquor sales to continue at the store for another 36 days.

Amjad, of Oak Brook, pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor theft charge alleging he stole alcoholic beverages for resale purposes. Village code states no liquor license shall be issued to a person convicted of any federal or state law concerning the manufacture, possession or sale of liquor.

Authorities say Amjad teamed up with a former receiving clerk at Teddy’s Liquor on Rand Road, arranging to pay the clerk for alcohol stolen from the store.

Teddy’s owner Connie Karavidas said a store manager tipped her family off, and that she and her brother set up a stakeout June 24, 2010 to catch the act in progress. Palatine police were called and found a van filled with more than a dozen cases of stolen beer, wine and liquor.

During his brief testimony Friday, Amjad said that was the first and only time the theft took place. But Det. Charles Carroll testified Amjad admitted in an interview at the police station that it had occurred several times.

Karavidas also said Amjad provided her ex-employee with a shopping list once or twice a week for four months. The $3,000 restitution Amjad was ordered to pay by the court only accounted for a fraction of what Teddy’s lost, she added.

Amjad’s attorney said losing the liquor license is a “death sentence” for Community Food Mart because 80 percent of its $500,000 in annual gross sales come from liquor. He asked for a $1,000 fine and two-week license suspension, pointing out that the store had no violations since opening in 1992.

Mayor Jim Schwantz, a member of the liquor commission, said he doesn’t want to see a business in jeopardy but that the store doesn’t have to close.

“Holding a liquor license is a privilege, not a right,” Schwantz said. “There’s big responsibility that comes with it.”