Honey Martin pub ordered shut for two days for trivial reasons

Michael Griffin

  Liquor authorities and police are continuing their enthusiastic campaign to crack down on bars for minor reasons.
  Homey little Honey Martin Pub on Sherbrooke W. was recently ordered to close (or more specifically not to serve alcohol) for two days as punishment for what appears to be trifling infractions.
   The bar is owned by Michael Griffin who is also a respected and oft-employed boxing referee.
   Griffin had a brother named Richard who was shot dead, likely by Mafia he owed money to.

John Griffin and wife

    Another brother named John was found guilty of killing Denis Poirier over a drug debt.
   John and Richard, who grew up in NDG, were said to be part of the West End Gang but they did more business with the Italians and were sometimes teased for their inclination to dress and talk like Italian mobsters.
   The family history is well-known and it was raised as part of the file even though Michael is not considered a player in such affairs and has mostly avoided trouble.
  According to the police,  Michael was once accused of attempting to extort $300,000 over a lease disagreement back when he owned the Van Gogh Club, then at the NE corner of Drummond and De Maisonneuve in 2000.
   Michael was also found to have  a 9mm pistol and a basebal lbat in his car in May 2008 outside a downtown disco. His son was inside the car at the time.
    He was also once described as aggressive and belligerent when given a ticket for a bylaw infraction.
   Michael and John were also accused of overly-vigorously trying to get through a police cordon to see their brother after he had been shot, which seems understandable given the circumstances.
  But how is all of this relevant to the pub?
  When a bar gets called before the RACJ liquor authorities are usually presented a lengthy list of infractions compiled by police over time.
   The Honey Martin's list is thinner than an Amish phone book.
   Someone was robbed at knifepoint outside on the sidewalk in 2011, a phone was stolen inside in 2011, someone was assaulted in 2012, five people were seen drinking inside and a man was arrested for a probation violation all that same year.
    The pub was warned in 2003 for not displaying its liquor license. It was closed for a week for serving in an authorized manner. It was ordered shut for four days in 2004 for noise.
  The decision also suggests that Griffin backed off a plan to sell a stake in the bar to someone named Patricia Kahlil of Toronto.