A Boston police officer and a Boston Public Health Commission campus police officer are facing charges for allegedly operating an illegal nightclub in a Jamaica Plain basement that offered bottle service, hookah and a DJ, according to court records and authorities.

Prosecutors allege Boston police Officer Richard McDermott and BPHC campus officer Luigi D’Addieco ran the operation from a unit at 360B Center St. that they initially rented for heating and air conditioning. The company, according to the facts presented in the case.

Authorities say the men turned the basement into a nightclub after hours during the Covid-19 outbreak.

“The club featured bouncers with magnetometers to scan patrons for weapons, a cover charge, bottle service where patrons paid more than $100 for full bottles of liquor, hookah service, a DJ to provide music, and promoters who advertised the club on social media,” prosecutors said. wrote. Authorities said McDermott and D’Addieco did not have a license to sell alcohol.

McDermott was charged with intimidating witnesses, maintaining a gambling disorder and using criminal record information under false pretenses. D’Addieco was charged with concealing evidence related to a criminal investigation and maintaining a gambling disorder, according to the district attorney’s office.

Both men were arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court on Thursday., Here they pleaded not guilty to the charges and were personally released. According to the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office, charges were filed against them on October 3.

Accusations and details of the alleged nightclub operation were first reported. Bulk Live.

Authorities said the nightclub had been in operation for “a few months” but was reported to police on July 10, 2021, when an argument broke out outside and a man fired several shots at the front door, hitting the security guard behind the door. The bouncer was treated at Boston Medical Center, prosecutors said.

Boston police responded to a shooting at a club with a tactical unit. Prosecutors said McDermott was one of the last people to exit the building and was known to other officers.

McDermott, who was armed, allegedly told officers he was visiting his brother-in-law’s party and didn’t know what was going on, according to court records. Authorities said McDermott’s statement was misleading; because security video allegedly shows McDermott peering out the club’s front door and stepping over blood and broken glass before police arrived.

The video also alleges that D’Addieco’s car appeared on Center Street after the shooting and was parked across the street from the club’s front entrance. Alleged phone records After the incident, it was revealed that the two had multiple phone calls that night, according to prosecutors.

Authorities allege both men made false statements to detectives during the investigation.

McDermott was suspended without pay after he was charged earlier this month, Boston police spokesman Detective Sergeant John Boyle said.

The Boston Public Health Commission did not respond to a message seeking comment about D’Addieco on Saturday. One Instagram post In May, the commission said it wanted to hire a police officer on campus and that no police training was required.

McDermott’s attorney, John Seed, and D’Addieco’s attorney, Francis Sacco, said they are awaiting discovery materials from prosecutors.

“He’s looking forward to his day in court,” Sacco said of his client. Seed declined to comment.

Both men are expected to appear in court again on January 7.

Nick Stoico can be reached at [email protected].