Russo, re [2009] NZLLA 400 (16 April 2009)

New Zealand Liquor Licensing Authority

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Russo, re [2009] NZLLA 400 (16 April 2009)

Last Updated: 6 April 2010

Decision No. PH 400/2009

IN THE MATTER of the Sale of Liquor Act 1989

AND

IN THE MATTER of an application by LEONARDO GRANT RUSSO pursuant to s.118 of the Act for a General Manager’s Certificate

BEFORE THE LIQUOR LICENSING AUTHORITY

Chairman: District Court Judge E W Unwin
Member: Dr J Horn

HEARING at WELLINGTON on 31 March 2009

APPEARANCES

No appearance by or on behalf of applicant
Mr R S Putze – Wellington District Licensing Agency Inspector – in opposition
Acting Sergeant S M Cavanagh – NZ Police – in opposition

ORAL DECISION OF THE AUTHORITY

[1] This is an application by Leonardo Grant Russo for a General Manager’s Certificate. The application was filed with the Wellington District Licensing Agency in August last year.

[2] At the time Mr Russo was able to comply with the criteria set out in s.121 of the Act. He is the holder of the Licence Controller Qualification. He had good support from his employer and was said to be the sole charge operator of a convenience store/grocery in the city. He was regarded as honest and mature.

[3] In his application form Mr Russo was asked whether he had been convicted of any offences and the answer was "no". As it happens Mr Russo has a reasonably large number of convictions although the majority of these are historical. The convictions may have been incurred under different names.

[4] Between 1990 and 1996, Mr Russo was convicted of some 19 offences. These included charges involving dishonesty and driving with excess breath alcohol content. The offending was compounded by a more recent offence in Christchurch on 26 October 2007.

[5] The facts show that at about 7.30 pm, Mr Russo was the driver of a motor vehicle which entered a car park in Christchurch. There was a dispute over the parking of the car. As a result, Mr Russo used his car keys to scratch the boot of the victim's motor vehicle leaving a visible mark. Reparation was sought.

[6] Mr Russo appeared in the Christchurch District Court approximately six weeks later. He was convicted and ordered to pay reparation which amounted to $520.81. As the Police have pointed out, this particular conviction meant that his previous offending becomes relevant. In other words having been consistently in trouble when he was much younger, Mr Russo showed that he continues to have some difficulty in leading a pro-social lifestyle.

[7] It is possible that because of the period of time since the conviction, favourable consideration could have been given to the application considering the support that Mr Russo had. On the other hand the Police evidence indicated that Mr Russo was no longer working at the premises that had been nominated.

[8] The final impediment to the grant of a certificate is that Mr Russo failed to appear in support of his application and no explanation was received for his non-appearance.

[9] The only reasonable inference we can draw is that he is no longer interested in pursuing his application. In his absence he is unable to establish the criteria set out in the Act, and in particular, whether he is currently employed in the industry.

[10] In those circumstances we are not satisfied that he is suitable to hold a certificate and the application is refused.

DATED at WELLINGTON this 16th day of April 2009

B M Holmes
Deputy Secretary

Leonardo Russo.doc(aw)