A bartender that — while in a state of understandable shock — served a beer to Michael Ouellette moments after he shot and killed Warren Assistant Fire Chief Brian Remy and injured another patron of the Italo-American Club in Warren last year did not have a valid certification to serve alcohol, Town of Warren solicitor Anthony DeSisto alleged during a hearing at the Department of Administration in Providence on April 12.

The information came, apparently, as a surprise to current club president Michael Saviano during DeSisto’s cross-examination of his testimony before Department of Business Regulation (DBR) hearing officer Catherine Warren, who is trying to decide whether or not the Italo-American Club of Warren should get to keep its liquor license following the unprecedented violent attack that occurred on Sept. 2, 2021.

“Patrick McKiernan [the bartender who served Ouellette] does not have a TIPS card, to the town’s knowledge. Are you aware of that?” asked DeSisto. “No,” replied Saviano.

TIPS — Training for Intervention ProcedureS — is a nationally recognized certification program that allows bartenders to legally serve alcohol to patrons where alcohol is sold.

As learned in previous testimony, Ouellette had consumed several beers on the day of the shooting, and had a .277 blood-alcohol concentration upon his death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

DeSisto confirmed on Tuesday that McKiernan had only received his TIPS certification in October of 2021, a month after the incident occurred.

Testimony heard about Ouellette’s character
DeSisto brought up the allegation of McKiernan’s lack of a TIPS certification following testimony from Saviano that indicated Ouellette had no apparent history of abusing alcohol or showing any signs of outward aggressive behavior — part of the ongoing strategy by the club’s defense attorney, Kevin Bristow, that the violence could not have been prevented or foreseen.

“I think every piece of evidence would point that he [Ouellette] was mentally ill…community members were shocked and that is what you would expect,” Bristow said in his opening statement.

Saviano testified that Ouellette, as president of the club, had never caused a disturbance, never verbally or physically threatened or assaulted anyone, and that he had never seen him bring a firearm into the club before. He also testified that he felt Ouellette had a good relationship with Remy.

“It always seemed like they got along really well,” Saviano said, adding that Ouellette, a quahogger by trade, would sell Remy quahogs now and then.

Saviano said that Ouellette also never had any known issues with Jason Furtado, the other club patron who Ouellette shot during the altercation who ultimately survived his injuries.

Saviano testified that, on the day of the shooting, he had heard news of the incident occurring at the club and immediately went in that direction. Upon his travels on Water Street, he said he actually saw Ouellette in the final moments of his life.

“As I was approaching the Square Peg, I heard a single shot. As I continued, I noticed Mr. Ouellette standing on the left side of the road near his apartment and I noticed he had a gun in his hand,” he said. “I stopped and I looked at him. I didn’t see the gun at first. He looked at me and he appeared to be laughing. I saw the gun come up as the police were approaching…I got out of there…I heard some gunshots…Then I saw him face down on the side of his house…He appeared to be dead.”

Susan Conti, who knew Ouellette for about 10 years and said she considered him like one of her sons, testified similarly to Saviano that she never knew him to be a heavy drinker or saw him take any type of illicit substance.

“He would drink but he would drink slowly. I’ve never seen him intoxicated. Like everyone does. You go there, you want to play pool and bocci and cards. It was like a family business over there,” she said. “I have no explanation for [what happened]. It’s a shock to me.”

One other piece of information that was revealed by Joseph Benevides, a long-time club patron and acquaintance of Ouellette, was that apparently Ouellette had been having repair difficulties with his quahogging boat, leaving him unable to work. But exact details on that fact remained unclear at the conclusion of the hearing.

Another hearing has yet to be scheduled on the matter, and DeSisto said that a written decision from the DBR is expected, but did not have an estimate as to when that would be.