PITTSBURGH — The District Attorney has given Capo’s Bar a deadline to agree to a list of demands designed to improve safety conditions or be shut down.
Information sent by Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala’s Office said a meeting discussing possible remediation was held between Capo’s owners and several law enforcement agencies on Tuesday morning.
Those agencies included members of the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Nuisance Bar Task Force, the Liquor Code Enforcement (LCE) and Liquor Control Board (LCB). Capo’s legal counsel was also present.
During the meeting, the owners were given a list of demands the DA says are “necessary to improve and protect the safety of patrons.” They did not say what the list included.
The owners were given 48 hours to agree to those changes. If not, the DA’s office will file a petition for the business’s closure. However, if the business does agree to the terms, Zappala plans to meet with Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor’s office to seek approval for a court order, which may require the filing of a petition too.
Zappala first mentioned the petition to shut the business down last week, but said he wanted to hold this meeting with the owners first.
The DA’s office is not taking the situation lightly.
“We’d like to reiterate that the decision to take away a business’s ability to operate is a heavy one that affects the livelihood of many,” a spokesperson for the DA said.
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Channel 11 has reached out to the owners of Capo’s Bar for a statement following this meeting and is waiting to hear back.
The controversy over the South Side establishment comes after security removed a woman who was visibly intoxicated from the bar, after which police say she was raped by Larry “Pappy” Johnson in a nearby parking lot.
Surveillance cameras captured the assault on video, and investigators say the woman was unconscious during the attack.
Capo’s initially told Channel 11 that the victim was not at their business that night. Zappala has since said that is not true.
Johnson is now in custody after he was arrested in New York last week.
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