'Garbage/Spanish' People Shouldn't Buy Booze, NJ Councilman Said In Cop’s Report

DOVER, NJ — A Dover councilman had photos of people he called "garbage" when he demanded that a local liquor store stop selling alcohol to them or risk losing its license, officials said.

Sergio Rodriguez's interaction with a Dover Liquors employee was recorded on a store security camera, a detective wrote in an affidavit of probable cause filed with the charges. The Morris County Prosecutor's Office charged the 29-year-old with fourth-degree criminal coercion, saying he used his position to intimidate the store's owner and an employee.

According to the affidavit:

On Oct. 25, Rodriguez went into the store and asked to speak with the owner. An employee said the owner was not there, and Rodriguez identified himself as a councilman before presenting a business card with the Town of Dover seal.

Rodriguez asked to leave a message for the owner, "stating that the liquor store's license would not be renewed if they continued to sell to the 'garbage/Spanish' people frequently seen drinking in the courtyard." The councilman also reportedly had photos of the people in question, and demanded that the store stop selling liquor to them.

He then left his information with the employee and said the owner needed to contact him. The liquor store's owner later told investigators that he had spoken with Rodriguez, who again mentioned that he had photos of the individuals.

Rodriguez warned that the retailer "could face problems with the town" if they kept selling alcohol to those people, including potential issues with renewing his license, the store owner said.

Patch has reached out to Rodriguez and to Dover Mayor James Dodd for comment.

The first-term councilman was arrested twice for assault last year after separate confrontations with men whom he said were drunk and causing problems on the town's streets, as the Morristown Daily Record reported.

In one of the instances, the report said, he was accused of shoving a man to the ground and knocking him unconscious. In another, which Rodriguez had shared video of and then later deleted, he appeared to kick a bottle out of a homeless man's hands.

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