Since last fall, Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission agents have been investigating whether there is hidden ownership at Dan O’Brien’s Public House, 2747 W Memorial Road, agency general counsel John Maisch said Friday.

ABLE agents suspect felons Rusty and Joe Therrien, who are brothers, may be hiding their ownership interest in the bar with the help of their father, Conrad Therrien.

Conrad Therrien, 59, is a co-owner of the bar and part of another ownership group trying to buy the bar outright, Maisch said.

Rusty Therrien, 37, and Joe Therrien, 34, were convicted in 2007 of wire fraud and other financial crimes in a far-reaching federal mortgage fraud case related to home sales in Edmond’s upscale Oak Tree neighborhood.

Felons are not allowed to have alcohol licenses in Oklahoma and therefore cannot own bars.

In addition, all bar owners must be disclosed on alcohol permit applications to the ABLE Commission.

The brothers are not listed as owners in any paperwork on file with the agency.

Several efforts to reach the Therriens and bar owners were unsuccessful Friday.

On Friday evening, ABLE agents issued a liquor license revocation notice against Rusty Therrien, who works at the bar, and a citation against the bar for allowing a fight.

The citation stems from the Feb. 15 beating of officer Chad Peery, 34, who was left paralyzed after being beaten while trying to break up a fight at the bar.

The citation alleges the bar did not do enough to prevent the fight.

State law prohibits bars from condoning fighting.

Peery, who was off duty, was asked by bar employees to help remove three men from the bar who were causing a disturbance. Maisch said the bar should have had someone on duty capable of removing the men from the bar.

“We can’t stop 100 percent of the fights,” Maisch said. “However, businesses that sell alcoholic beverages do have a responsibility to take reasonable steps to reduce the likelihood that fights will occur.

These steps can include increasing staffing levels during peak service periods and requiring server training to assist bartenders in learning to identify and discontinue serving customers who exhibit aggressive behavior.”

Dan O’Brien’s hosted a fundraiser for Peery on Feb. 19. Several city police officers attended.

‘It raised a flag’

Rusty Therrien drew scrutiny from investigators in October, when he was caught working in the bar without an alcohol server’s license.

At that time, a bar employee told an ABLE agent the Therrien brothers had been working at the bar and that their father owned part of the bar, records show.

“It raised a flag to us,” Maisch said.

On his subsequent application for a server’s license, Therrien falsely reported he had not been convicted of a felony.

ABLE then inadvertently issued him a server’s license despite state law preventing felons from obtaining alcohol server licenses.

Investigators have since been looking into whether Conrad Therrien is paying his sons earnings from his ownership stake in the bar as part of a hidden ownership agreement.

“We have reason to believe that Joe (Therrien), although he hasn’t obtained a license, that he is also involved in the business,” Maisch said.

Maisch said the hidden ownership could possibly stretch back years.

Maisch said his agency has been holding up the bar’s request to transfer its alcohol license to the other ownership group Conrad Therrien is part of until the investigation into possible hidden ownership is complete.

An ABLE Commission hearing on the matter is set for March 15.

Both involved people who were drinking inside, altercations arose, and the parties stepped outside to resolve them. Both fights took place mere steps from the entrances. O’Brien’s larger, suburban location meant that the fight took place on its property. Rok Bar’s urban location meant that the fight took place on public property.