Minority bar owners say Racine conspired to put them out of business

Six former Racine tavern owners have sued the city, its tavern league, a downtown development organization and others contending they engaged in a successful conspiracy of racketeering and corruption to drive minority bar owners out of downtown Racine starting in 2006.

While subjecting minority tavern owners and would-be tavern owners to heightened regulatory and law enforcement scrutiny, the city rarely took similar actions or denied liquor license requests for white bar owners, who often took over the licenses revoked from minority business owners, the suit contends.

A Latino man who won a license after months of work — and being denied membership to the tavern league — was shut down by police when he finally opened in May last year, and was allowed to reopen only after the man’s brother dropped a recall effort against a powerful alderman, the suit contends.