I-Team: Business owner claims mayor is threatening him

CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. – A Central Falls business owner says he’s being threatened by the mayor, the NBC 10 I-Team reported.

Brian Dempsey has spent more than $120,000 to renovate a building on Broad Street. He said he wants to open up a legitimate massage parlor.

Dempsey said that he got all of the necessary building permits and his certificate of occupancy, but when it came to get his license for the massage parlor he hit a roadblock.

The Board of Licenses said that because he had not yet hired a licensed massage therapist it wouldn’t give him a license. Dempsey said five licensed therapists have applied to work at his parlor.

Dempsey said he took his concerns to Central Falls Mayor Charles Moreau last week and that he told the mayor that he might bring his story to the news media.

“I spoke to the mayor. Basically the mayor said, ‘If you’re going to do that, if you’re going to the news, I’ll stuff it in your (expletive) so hard it won’t be funny,‘“ Dempsey said.

Dempsey claims the mayor made another threat.

“He inferred to me they would plant cocaine on me or something like that,“ he said.

Moreau said the allegations are baseless and that Dempsey is trying to bully the city into opening his massage parlor.

“Do you think I would tell someone I’d put cocaine in their car. Why would I say something like that?“ Moreau said.

Dempsey said at the next Board of Licenses meeting on June 8 he hopes to show proof that he has a licensed therapist already hired, the last step in getting his license to open up his spa.