Last week a committee of the San Diego City Council rejected an appeal by the owner of the Lucky Lady card room of the denial of its police permit renewal.
The Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee voted unanimously to deny the appeal. The committee said the legal standards for granting the appeal were not met.
The card club, owned by Stanley Penn for 43 years employs about 100 workers. Penn’s attorney said he was likely to resort to the courts. The permit will run out in November.
According to the City News Service, city documents disclose that the San Diego Police Department denied the permit after Penn did not disclose that he is one of eight under federal indictment for racketing. He is accused of allowing illegal sports gambling in the card room. That decision by the hearing officer was confirmed by a hearing in March.
Penn, 79, testified before the committee that he has operated the card room legally and obeyed all city regulations for more than 40 years. He blamed the mistake on a change in the application form in 2015.
He told the committee, “I’ve been a good part of this community a long time,” Penn said. “I employ a lot of people. They have good jobs. If they were to lose this job, they would have a hard time replacing it.”
Penn’s appeal raises several issues, including his claim that he was not allowed to make a full presentation of his case to the hearing officer, who heard no evidence on his behalf. He also contends that the decision violates several city codes and that the city council ought to make the final determination on the appeal.
