Includes now-defunct Landmark Americana Tap & Grill on The College of New Jersey campus in Ewing
In the early morning hours of Dec. 2, 2018, 22-year-old David Lamar of West Windsor left Landmark Ewing after hours of drinking and crashed head-on into a car carrying six TCNJ students back to campus. The collision killed the car’s designated driver and wounded all five passengers, one critically. Lamar and his passenger also sustained injuries in the crash. At the time of the incident, Lamar had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit for driving.
October 1, 2020
TRENTON, NJ (MERCER)–Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC”) today announced a settlement resolving charges against Landmark Americana bars in Ewing and Glassboro stemming from two fatal accidents involving patrons in 2018 and 2019.
The owners of the Landmark Americana Tap & Grill located near the Rowan University campus in Glassboro (“Landmark Glassboro”), and the now-defunct Landmark Americana Tap & Grill on The College of New Jersey campus in Ewing (“Landmark Ewing”), agreed to sell the liquor license for the Glassboro establishment within two years, significantly curtail the bar’s business hours and operation in the interim, and pay $550,000 to the State, under settlement terms contained in a Consent Order with ABC.
In addition, the owners have forfeited the temporary permit that had authorized the sale and consumption of alcohol at the Landmark Ewing establishment until the bar closed down last fall, the consent order acknowledges.
The settlement is a global resolution of numerous charges filed against corporate entities held by Antonio Cammarata, Fillippo Cammarata, Massimo Cammarata, and David Goldman who together hold liquor licenses for Landmark Ewing, Landmark Glassboro, and WineWorks liquor store in Evesham under various corporate names.
The charges alleged numerous violations committed by the establishments in 2018 and 2019, including operating a public nuisance requiring law enforcement responses on numerous occasions, serving an underage patron, and three separate instances of serving intoxicated patrons, two of which led to fatal crashes.
“Intoxicated drivers present lethal threats to themselves, their passengers, and everyone else on the road,” said Attorney General Grewal. “Public safety demands, and the law requires, that establishments licensed to serve alcohol do so responsibly. When they don’t, we will hold them accountable.”
In the early morning hours of Dec. 2, 2018, 22-year-old David Lamar of West Windsor left Landmark Ewing after hours of drinking and crashed head-on into a car carrying six TCNJ students back to campus. The collision killed the car’s designated driver and wounded all five passengers, one critically. Lamar and his passenger also sustained injuries in the crash. At the time of the incident, Lamar had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit for driving.
Ten months later, in the early morning hours of Oct. 11, 2019, Robert Gallagher, 21, of Monroe Township, left Landmark Glassboro after hours of drinking, lost control of his car, and crashed into a retaining wall. Gallagher died as a result of his injuries and his passenger was injured. At the time of the incident, Gallagher had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit for driving.
In both cases, ABC’s investigation revealed that the patrons responsible for the fatal crashes had been overserved alcohol by Landmark Americana staff. State law prohibits licensed establishments from selling alcoholic beverages to any patrons “actually or apparently” intoxicated. According to experts, the vast majority of drinkers are “apparently intoxicated” at a Blood Alcohol Concentration (“BAC”) of .15%. In New Jersey, a BAC of .08% is the legal limit for driving.
“Today we are holding the owners of Landmark Americana responsible for the role they played in the tragic deaths of two young people who we allege would be alive today if not for the irresponsible conduct of Landmark Americana and its staff,” said James B. Graziano, Acting Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. “These deaths are a grim reminder of what can happen when establishments fail to comply with laws requiring them to serve alcohol responsibly, especially when catering to young patrons in a college setting.”
Under the terms of the settlement announced today, the Cammaratas and Goldman – who hold Landmark Glassboro’s liquor license under the corporate name Zagami LLC – agreed to sell the license and divest their interest in the bar by Oct. 1, 2022. The settlement also places immediate restrictions on Landmark Glassboro’s operations that include:
- a “last call” at 11:30 pm and no alcoholic beverages sold after midnight;
- no amplified music or live DJ on site;
- a ban on using the “nightclub room” except for private parties not open to the general public or dining;
- a ban on offering patrons one free drink as a good will gesture and/or offering coupons, tickets, or tokens to redeem a free drink;
- requiring all alcoholic beverages to be sold, delivered, and dispensed in accordance with industry standards: a five-ounce pour for wine, a 12-ounces bottle or can for malt beverages, a 16-ounce draft pour for malt alcoholic beverages.
These restrictions are independent from any limits on indoor or outdoor dining imposed by Governor Murphy’s Executive Orders. The global settlement also resolves a charge filed against CGM Wines, LLC t/a WineWorks in August 2019 for failure to disclose an interest in its license in violation of state laws. The charge, which sought a 30-day license suspension as penalty, was the result of an ABC investigation that found CGM Wines was transferring money back and forth from a Pennsylvania business owned by Fillippo Cammarata.
- Photo by energepic.com on Pexels.com