Times are getting tough for The Golden Prince closer to home, it would seem, according to this recent post on The New York Times Webpage.
In it, it is revealed that the nephew of State Senator Marty Golden (aka The Golden Prince) has been arrested for his apparent involvement in a bar fight in Bay Ridge.
Here’s the story:
Two police officers and a firefighter, were injured early Saturday in what the authorities described as a fight that began in a bar in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
The violence broke out about 2:48 a.m. at the Kettle Black Bar, on the northwest corner of Third Avenue and 87th Street, according to the police.
It began, the police said, when a man punched an off-duty city police officer in the face, touching off a melee. The officer had been standing and talking with three friends — a man and two women — in the front near the bar, the police said.
As the fight spread, bouncers propelled many patrons out into the street.
An off-duty police officer with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey went to help the other officer, a law enforcement official said. But though he identified himself as an officer, he was hit in the jaw, the official said.
Outside, an off-duty city firefighter, who had come to the bar with the Port Authority officer, was trying restore order when “someone takes a swipe at his arm,” with a knife, said the official, who spoke on the condition on anonymity because the case remained under investigation.
The officers and the firefighter were not immediately identified. The police said the injured firefighter and Port Authority officer were treated at Lutheran Medical Center. It was not clear how they arrived there.
More than 12 hours after the fight, detectives from the 68th Precinct had placed five people under arrest in connection with it, including John DeCarlo, 22, of Staten Island, who the police believe threw the initial punch.
Mr. DeCarlo was charged with assault, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon, the police said.
None of the off-duty municipal workers were facing charges on Saturday, although investigators were still piecing together what happened and trying to pin down the roles played by each of those involved, the police said.
John Kelly, a spokesman for the Port Authority, said, “the matter is under investigation.” He declined further comment.
Along the street where the bar is located, detectives moved in and out of stores, speaking to merchants and others.
And two lawyers, who said they were representing the five arrested men were also on the street near the bar, detailing for reporters a slightly different account of what had occurred — including who got hit first.The lawyers, Arthur Aidala and Michael Cibella, said their clients did not start the fight, but rather were attacked. They one of the arrested men, Kevin Crowley, a Marine, was in the bar with friends when he was hit in the head. Then, they said, the bouncers attempted to break up the fight by pushing Mr. Crowley and his friends outside while trying, unsuccessfully, to keep others inside.
“It’s our information that it’s going to take a long time to figure out what happened,” said Mr. Aidala, adding that Mr. Crowley had an injury to the front of his head. “This started out as a simple bar fight altercation that escalated when Mr. Crowley was hit over the head with a bottle.”
In addition to Mr. Crowley and Mr. DeCarlo, the lawyers identified a third client, Dan Golden, who they said was also facing charges. They said Mr. Golden is a nephew of State Senator Martin J. Golden, whose district includes Bay Ridge. The senator did not immediately return a call to his cellphone on Saturday.
Mike Anello, 26, a property manager, who said he was a friend of the firefighter, supported the firefighter’s version. Mr. Anello said he was in a back room of the bar when the fight broke out. Outside, he found the firefighter in the middle of the street with his shirt tied around his left arm to stanch the bleeding.
“And he was bleeding pretty bad,” Mr. Anello said. “He was screaming, ‘Get me to the hospital.’”
Mr. Anello said that although he did not see the fight begin, he spoke with the firefighter afterward and said the firefighter told him the fight began when someone hit the off-duty city officer with a beer bottle. He said the firefighter, who is 29, was, “just trying to help the off-duty cop.”
Elsewhere on the street, merchants said weekend nights were often punctuated by disorder and noise.
“Every weekend, fighting here,” said an employee of Buon Gusto Pizza, about a block and a half from the Kettle Black Bar. “It’s nothing new. Everybody fighting. Fighting, drinking and more fighting.
At Sunrise Farms, a grocery near the bar, Anthony Tome, a clerk, pointed to the aftermath of the fight: A large patch of blood on the corner of 86th Street and Third Avenue, and a woman’s red high-heeled shoe lying idle on the curb.
Inside the bar, which was decorated with flowers and balloons for a baby shower, a bartender denied that any trouble had occurred.
“This is just some bad rumor,” said the bartender, who declined to identify himself.
On Saturday, the police had not identified the four men, besides Mr. DeCarlo, who had been arrested, but said they would likely face charges of menacing.
They added that two knives had been recovered: One from the floor inside the bar and one outside, near Mr. DeCarlo’s feet.In February, two firefighters were charged with riot and misdemeanor assault in connection with a fight in January at the Salty Dog, another Day Ridge bar. Three men were severely injured in that episode.
***
I guess it’s true what they’re saying: crime is going up in the city (forgive me, I couldn’t resist 
too easy to go after Bloomberg).
Let’s hope whoever is innocent is exonerated and the true culprits are brought to justice.
It should be noted that Senator Golden is a former police officer. One hopes no special treatment is given to Mr. Golden due to his relationship with the Senator.
Fair is fair.
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