Report from TABC: Las Colinas Prime is Closed and Criminal Charges Have Been Filed

Las Colinas Prime is now closed.

Last week when I talked with the TABC about Twisted Vine, I asked Agent Holloway if he knew anything about the ongoing investigation of Las Colinas Prime. He transferred me to Agent Joe Garcia. If you read Costa’s transcript you will remember Agent Garcia. Here is an quick recap and updated status.

In July I reported Republic Restaurant in Las Colinas had changed their name to Las Colinas Prime. In the comments section, readers reported some shady activities going on at LCP. I finally tracked down Michael Costa, the man responsible for running LCP for owner Bill McCrorey, and printed the entire transcript of our conversation.  Costa denied he was arrested by the TABC. When I contacted the TABC, they said otherwise. I sent the transcripts and all of the SideDish posts to the TABC.

Las Colinas Prime is now closed but the investigation into Costa and McCrorey is still open. There is a hearing scheduled for mid-October. The original investigation has spun off in a couple of other directions (health code violations for one) and the whole deal is getting very complicated. Agent Garcia confirmed that criminal charges have been filed against Michael Costa and Bill McCrorey for “possession of an un-invoiced alcoholic beverage.” (Section 28.06 of the law states punishment is “not less than 30 days and not more than 2 years.”) Whether or not they do jail time depends on the judge. Costa was also charged with “evading arrest with the use of a vehicle” which is a “state jail felony.” Agent Garcia says Costa could “go to pen for six months to two years.”

UPDATE: I forgot to copy and paste the rest of the story. According to a police report on filed on September 22, Bill McCrorey’s wife “threatened complainant with death and fired a gun at complainant [Bill]… Threatened to kill complainant and used a firearm and shot at complainant. Complainant was in fear for his life.” (thanks to alert Disher, JW)