TRENTON — In one case, a New Jersey bar allegedly mixed rubbing alcohol with caramel food coloring and served it as scotch.

In another, a bar is accused of pouring dirty water into an empty bottle and passing it off as liquor.

Those are some of the details state officials released today after a year-long investigation called "Operation Swill," which culminated Wednesday when more than 100 investigators raided 29 bars and restaurants across New Jersey on the suspicion they had been serving cheap alcohol disguised as premium brands.

"What these 29 establishments have allegedly done threatens the integrity of the alcoholic beverage industry as a whole," state Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa said at a news conference today in Trenton. "This alleged scheme is a dishonest ruse to increase profits, and it is a slap in the face of the consumer. The consumer should have the peace of mind to know that when they pay for something, they get exactly what they paid for, no exceptions."

Thirteen of the establishments identified were TGI Fridays franchises operated by the Briad Group, a Livingston-based hospitality company. TGI Friday's corporate offices in Texas said today that the accusations are "very disturbing."

"If accurate, they would represent a violation of our company's values and our extensive bar and beverage standards which are designed to deliver the highest guest experience in our restaurants," the company said in a statement. "We have zero tolerance for actions that undermine the trust of our guests and call into question the reputation we have built up over the past 48 years."

"Although this is isolated to one group of franchised restaurants, I want to reiterate to all of our guests that we remain committed to delivering the 'In Here, It's Always Friday' experience to every guest in every restaurant," the statement continued. "That's always been and will continue to be our focus and promise to our guests."

Briad operates 70 TGI Fridays across the country, including Arizona, California, Connecticut, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, and New York. They also run 42 Wendy's in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, as well as Marriott and Hilton hotels, the Corner Bakery shops, Cups yogurt stores, Zinburger locations, and the Promenade Shops at Clifton.

Briad president Rick Barbrick said today that the allegations are "troubling and surprising to us."

"We can assure our loyal and valuable guests that it is our corporate policy to treat all of our patrons honestly and fairly," Barbrick said in a statement. "We have already begun our own investigation to learn if any of these allegations are true. If they are, we will take immediate steps to correct any issues that may have led to less than a 100 percent quality experience for our guests."

"Regardless of the outcome, we will be deploying additional measures, supervision and quality checks into our process," the statement continued. "We want every assurance possible that our guests can continue to feel confident in the great food and drink they order at our TGI Friday’s restaurants."

Officials today refused to disclose which places served the rubbing alcohol or the dirty water, or what switches specific bars made, saying the investigation was continuing.

In most instances, they said, bars swapped higher-priced brands for less-expensive liquor. But in a few instances, "they didn't even bother doing that," said Michael Halfacre, director of the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

"They literally just filled it with whatever they had available," Halfacre said.

That, Chiesa said, poses a health risk.

"I think it's pretty dangerous," he said. "I wouldn't drink rubbing alcohol in my house. It serves a very specific purpose: to rub."

Steven Marcus, a doctor with the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System at UMDNJ, said drinking rubbing alcohol won't kill someone — at least not right away.



"It is very easily metabolized," Marcus said. "We don't worry too much about it. If you really wanted to, you can drink rubbing alcohol and get drunk from it."



But he noted that drinking too much could eventually kill someone.



"That's true with anything," Marcus said. "Everything has poisonous qualities."

While Chiesa said the investigation was not a criminal one, Halfacre noted that if further tests proved the establishments were guilty, they could have their liquor licenses suspended or revoked.

ABC investigates liquor-switching schemes every year, Halfcare said, but that this investigation was more involved. He said it was begun a year ago, when the number of consumer complaints jumped sharply, probably because of the tough economy. Around the same time, he said, a confidential informant tipped ABC off to several bars that may have been making switches.

In the meantime, a new instrument — the True Spirit Authenticator — became available that Halfacre said helped investigators test alcohol more quickly and cheaply. He said the device examines alcohol using light-emitting technology and is similar to field sobriety tests. The Authenticator is available on the commercial market, but Halfacre said he thought "this is the first time this technology has been used to this extent in the United States."

In January and February, officials said, ABC investigators visited 63 establishments across the state and ordered top-brand drinks neat — with no mixer or ice. They then took samples of the alcohol covertly, tested them with the True Spirit Authenticator, and then sent the samples to the brand manufacturers to confirm their findings.

The establishments in Wednesday's raid were chosen both at random and based on the test results, Halfacre said.

Investigators seized 1,000 open bottles of vodka, gin, rum, scotch, whiskey and tequila, as well as five funnels in the raid, officials said. The ABC will now test the evidence.

2 trchristie HINDASH.JPG

CONNECT WITH US

On mobile or desktop:

• Like Star-Ledger Politics on Facebook

• Follow @NJ_Politics on Twitter

And check out our redesigned mobile site by visiting NJ.com from any mobile browser.

Any establishment that is found to have made the switches will then be charged, though Halfacre emphasized that the ABC punishes the liquor licensees, but not bartenders.

He added that more raids were possible at the more than 7,200 bars, restaurants and taverns with liquor licenses statewide.

"This is essentially a wake-up call to the less altruistic operators in the industry that they need to get their act together," Halfacre said.

The 29 establishments raided run the gamut from neighborhood dive bars to fine-dining restaurants to famous chains:

Applebee's, Kearny

Bell's Tavern, Lambertville

Blackthorn Restaurant, Parsippany

The Brick House, Wyckoff

Brunswick Grove, East Brunswick

Café 34, Matawan

Cucina Calandara, Fairfield

Graziano's Ristorante, Chesilhurst

Italian Affair, Glassboro

Murray's, Dover

Railroad Café, East Rutherford

Ruby Tuesday, Bridgewater

Sona Thirteen, Morristown

Sunset Tavern, Burlington

TGI Fridays, Clifton

TGI Fridays, East Hanover

TGI Fridays, East Windsor

TGI Fridays, Freehold

TGI Fridays, Hamilton

TGI Fridays, Hazlet

TGI Fridays, Linden

TGI Fridays, Marlboro

TGI Fridays, North Brunswick

TGI Fridays, Old Bridge

TGI Fridays, Piscataway

TGI Fridays, Springfield

TGI Fridays, West Orange

Villari's Lakeside, Gloucester Township

Yesterday's Marmora

The owners of Cucina Calandara, located in the Best Western in Fairfield, released a statement today saying they "do not believe these allegations are accurate."

"The Calandra family and top-level managers had no prior knowledge whatsoever of any wrongdoing and will do everything possible to get to the bottom of these allegations," the statements said. "The Calandra family strives to provide their customers with the best products at the best prices; they have not, do not, and will not stand for anything less."

Anyone with information on possible illegal activity is encouraged to call the ABC's toll-free hotline at 1-866-713-8392.

Star-Ledger staff writers Christopher Baxter and Susan K. Livio contributed to this report.

RELATED COVERAGE

• Operation Swill: N.J. officials charge 29 bars with selling cheap liquor as premium brands

• Top-shelf scheme: Authorities raid 29 bars for selling cheap liquor as premium products