LetsGoDU

Bar Owner Charged

From our friends at Fox 9 News in Minneapolis

A criminal complaint obtained by the Fox 9 Investigators accuses bar owner Mike Mulrooney of serving alcohol to University of Minnesota hockey players who were underage. It also says police found evidence he gave Mens Gopher hockey players hundreds of dollars worth of free drinks and they gave him free tickets to games (Can you say Quid Pro Quo? - I don't know what it means but this Blog could definately use some Latin).
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FOX 9 cameras were rolling last fall (2005) as underage members of the Gopher Hockey players were waved past security and allowed inside to drink at Blarney Pub and Grill in Minneapolis (For some reason, I never tire of this story).

After the FOX 9 report aired, Minneapolis police started questioning employees of the bar, as well as the athletes. Investigators also seized bar records. And over the course of several months built their case against Mulrooney.

Mary Ellen Heng/Minneapolis Asst. Attorney: "I do think its one of the more serious that I've seen in my 8 years in this office (Mary Ellen needs a new line of work. I see more serious crimes being commited on my drive home from work each evening)."

Prosecutors say in February of 2005 Mulrooney allowed team members to bring recruits who were under 18, into the bar to drink. According to the complaint, Mulrooney even picked up the tab, worth nearly 370 dollars (I want to drink with that guy. All my friends head to the bathroom when the check is about to arrive).

Mary Ellen Heng/Minneapolis Asst. Attorney: "Several players stated that they were at the bar during the recruiting weekend and that Mr. Mulrooney was present and the students were playing a drinking game and a couple of students indicated that he participated in that drinking game with them (He probably was taking a break from the drinking game with the underage co-eds at Table 4 )."

Prosecutors say star players Phil Kessel and Jeff Frazee were two of the recruits who drank at the bar that weekend (So thats how the Gophers landed Kessel. Badger fans have a right to be upset with Wisconsin Coach Mike Eaves for not taking Phil to a bar during the recruiting visit to Madison). Both reportedly consumed so much alcohol that Mulrooney arranged for a bartender to drive them back to their hotel. That same weekend, prosecutors say, Mulrooney got free tickets to a game from a player.

Our investigation found this wasn't the only time underage recruits were taken to Mulrooney's bar. Our cameras recorded it happening again in October of 2005. Our investigation also documented that players gave Mulrooney tickets to at least 5 games (I need to buy the Border Bar next to Magness Arena. I can never get good tickets to the Pioneer Games)

Former employees told us Mulrooney said he liked having athletes as customers because they attracted more business (For those students majoring in Bartending out there, here's how it works...Athletes attract Hoochies and Hoochies attract dumb guys who have to drink a lot to build up the courage to talk to chicks that want nothing to do with them). Last fall, Mulrooney denied doing anything wrong. More recently, we tried talking to him about the criminal charges, but he declined to comment.

Ever since our initial report last fall the University has declined to allow either the hockey coach or athletic director to be interviewed by the Fox 9 Investigators. We were even banned from attending the teams media briefings (ouch...Fox 9 News is still upset about that incident).

The University did issue a statement about the charges against Mulrooney: "The conclusion of the police investigation allows us to complete our own investigation (errr....coverup....cough...cough) into whether or not NCAA rules were violated." The U says that investigation should be finalized in the near future (...say by 2025).

Mulrooney faces 9 counts of serving alcohol to minors (Interestingly #9 is the only number between 1 and 10 that was not worn by a Holy Cross player in last season's monumental upset of the Gophers. So if you ever see a Sioux fan walking around in a #9 Holy Cross Jersey, its a fake).