Beach Gallery Bar Says State Asked Them To Hire Ex-Cons, Will Permanently Close

KEANSBURG, NJ — The New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) is currently investigating Beach Gallery bar/restaurant in Keansburg, said a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Attorney General, which oversees the ABC.

The Attorney General spokeswoman confirmed an active investigation is underway, but she could not give anymore information, including why the bar is being investigated.

"Because this matter is the subject of an active investigation, we are not able to comment," she said.

The Beach Gallery is a beachfront bar and restaurant across from Keansburg Amusement Park. It first opened in May 2024 and abruptly closed this week.

The two men who ran the bar, Derick Jerinsky and director of operations John Schulte, plus general manager Michael Palacios, were all previously convicted of sex crimes against minors, and did prison time, according to court records. A former waitress at The Beach Gallery told Patch she recognized them by their mugshots as the three men who told staff they owned and operated the bar. Mariah Richmond, 33, of Keansburg, worked as a server when the bar first opened but quit in January, because she said she wasn't getting paid.

A call to The Beach Gallery was not returned Thursday. However, late Thursday afternoon the bar released this statement to their website, where they said they were asked by the state to hire ex-convicts.

Beach Gallery said it never asked about employees' criminal records, and also said the state of New Jersey had to approve the hiring of all employees who were on probation or parole.

When The Beach Gallery first opened it "was contacted by a state agency asking if we would be willing to hire individuals with criminal backgrounds, as the state was facing difficulty in placing them in employment," it read. "We readily agreed to participate, not only because it aligns with our core mission but also because we believe in supporting the state’s efforts to reduce recidivism through employment."

Beach Gallery is owned by a woman, it said. They also said they will be permanently closing.

"After careful consideration, The Beach Gallery has made the difficult decision to permanently close its doors."

Someone convicted of a sex crime in New Jersey is generally disqualified from owning a liquor license. As of press time, it was not immediately clear who held the Beach Gallery liquor license.

Schulte, 49, is a registered Tier-2 repetitive compulsive sex offender, according to the NJ Sex Offender Registry database. He was convicted in 2005 on two counts of sex assault; prosecutors say he sexually assaulted three boys ages 12 - 13 in Union County.

Jerinsky, originally of Suffern, New York, pleaded guilty in 2011 to showing obscene material to a minor and child endangerment, and he served three years in prison, according to New Jersey court records.

This occurred in 2010. Jerinsky, 27 at the time, was a certified music teacher and he was volunteering as an assistant band instructor at Ramsey High School in Bergen County, according to the Bergen County Prosecutor and NBC New York. While working with the high school band, Jerinsky had sexual contact with one underage female student and showed obscene sexual images to other underage teenage girls, said the prosecutor. In 2012, this order from the NJ Department of Education shows his music teacher certificate was permanently revoked, and he is not allowed to hold public school employment in the state of New Jersey.

And in 2018, Palacios pleaded guilty to failing to register as a sex offender, according to New Jersey court records. This photo of him on Mugshots.com showed he pleaded guilty to one count of sex assault against a victim ages 13-16.