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Artist and gallery owner Loren Naji at his gallery.

(Courtesy Loren Naji)

Within hours after a West 25th Street art gallery owned by Loren Naji was raided by state liquor control agents Friday night for serving alcohol without a permit, outrage from the local arts community began lighting up Facebook.

A handful of posts pointed to one man for calling the cops on Naji's Studio Gallery in Ohio City -- Henry Senyak, a longtime community activist.

On Monday, Senyak was reached at his home in Tremont and asked if he was involved with the Naji incident.

"That's a loaded question," Senyak told a reporter. "Let's just say I assisted in the process."

Senyak, 50, is a lifelong Clevelander and retired electrical contractor.

"I'm not an artsy guy," Senyak said. "I'm more of a sports guy. But this is not about personal vendettas. This is a safety issue. It's just making sure that people are legally compliant. Lately too often, the city ignores its own laws. There's no enforcement on nightclub safety."

Senyak is proud of the work he has done over the years when it comes to closing down bars and clubs where critics say crime and other trouble has spilled into surrounding neighborhoods.

"The city needs to enforce their laws," he said.

Senyak says he is a go-to guy for Clevelanders who live near crime-plagued entertainment venues and other scofflaws. He said city council members have often called him for assistance.

"When people call me for their help, I feel compelled to help them," he said. "I give back to my community."

Senyak said that Naji first hit his radar after the 2013 Winter Brite festival in Ohio City. He said Ohio City residents there complained to him about revelers walking around with open containers of beer and overcrowding in the galleries, including Naji's.

"I understand that Naji is considered a very positive influence for the art community on West 25th," Senyak said. "But he had more beer at his place (Friday night) than most corner bars."

Senyak said he didn't appreciate being demonized online for his civic work.

"Now I'm in the middle of this storm," he said. "I have a thick skin. I've been through this kind of thing before. But people need to be aware of existing laws."

Senyak insists that he doesn't think Naji is a bad guy.

"I hope he does well. I just hope he does what he needs to do to be successful. I'm just a regular blue-collar guy who has a love of Cleveland."

Meanwhile back over on West 25th the leftover party food from Naji's Friday night gallery opening was still out on the tables Monday, looking kind of nasty.

"Want some shrimp?" Naji, 58, asked, jokingly.

His gallery opening entitled "Undercurrents" has been the talk of the Internet in arts circles for days.

Naji's gallery opened in 2005. He said his mission there has always been, "To do art, to show art, and to help the community to have fun."

Naji described the behavior of the liquor control cops as "heavy-handed." Around 6 p.m., Cleveland police entered the gallery and warned Naji not to have a tip jar for the beer and wine, he said. There was a tip jar for the band, Yosemight, however.

An hour later the state officers entered the building and served Naji with a cease and desist order, warned those there to empty their bottles and glasses in the sink and not to take pictures with their cell phones as they put all the unopened beer and wine into large containers, Naji said.

Eventually the officers asked everyone there to go outside while they collected the alcohol, Naji said. Naji and his wife, Jodi, were allowed to stay inside.

"I thought they were going to take me away," he said. But Naji was not taken away and the party continued on with the live music and without the beer and wine.

The Cleveland office of the Ohio Dept. of Public Safety received multiple complaints over several months about loud noise at the gallery, Greg Croft, agent in charge of the investigative unit, told The Plain Dealer in an interview Monday.

Croft said that Naji has been charged with “keeper of a place,” an unclassified misdemeanor under state law that carries fines up to $500. He has also been charged with illegal sale of alcohol, a first degree misdemeanor punishable by up to six months of jail and fines up to $1,000.

A day later Naji was still perplexed.

"Does this mean that no art gallery can have wine at their openings?" asked Naji. "The galleries in Collinwood? At the 78th Street Studios? Every gallery in Cleveland serves wine and beer at their openings. Are they all illegal?"

Galleries can apply for an F-2 permit, which enables the temporary sale of alcohol for up to four days. Permits cost from $150 to $160.

Croft cautioned that the event allowed under the F-2 must be sponsored by

a nonprofit organization, with all proceeds benefiting the nonprofit.

"If they're for profit they wouldn’t be eligible for the F-2," Croft said. "But they could have a charitable organization sponsor an event."

He said that under state law, giving alcohol away at an art opening without a permit constitutes an illegal sale.

Naji feels like Senyak has targeted him.

"Look at his Facebook page," Naji said. "I have rental properties around here. He's found out where they all are and is calling for them to be inspected for code violations."

Naji insists that he has never had any complaints from his Ohio City neighbors. Just from Senyak, who lives in Tremont

"My next-door neighbor has never even complained about noise," said Naji who is seeking legal counsel.

"This feels like harassment."

Plain Dealer reporter Steven Litt contributed to this report.

