A Ligonier Township restaurant owner has sued Mt. Pleasant Township businessman Charles "Chip" Santone, his wife and daughter, alleging that they breached a sales agreement to purchase the Sleepy Hollow Tavern and forced it into foreclosure. Robert Bazala on Thursday filed suit in Westmoreland County against Santone, his wife, Evelyn, and their daughter, Gina Manners, in the sale of the Route 30 restaurant. Attorney David Trautman, of Pittsburgh, who represents Bazala, also asked Westmoreland County Judge Jay Ober for an injunction to bar the Santones from continuing to manage the restaurant they began operating earlier this year. Ober has scheduled a hearing for Monday. The two sides signed a sales agreement in March, the lawsuit states. In April, the Santones formed Sleepy Hollow Investments and Sleepy Hollow Management to finance the sale of the tavern, according to state corporation records. The lawsuit alleges that under the terms of the agreement, the Santones agreed to buy Sleepy Hollow for $815,000. As part of the deal, they agreed to pay Bazala $10,000 as a down payment and $5,000 a month until the sale was closed and Bazala's liquor license was transferred to them. The lawsuit alleges that the Santones never completed the sale and never transferred the license, but are continuing to manage the restaurant and sell alcohol. Molly McGowan, a spokeswoman for the state Liquor Control Board in Harrisburg, confirmed that the license remains in Bazala's name. "You have to be the owner of the license if you have a pecuniary interest in the business," McGowan said. "You can't sell liquor without a license. It would be illegal." Bazala also alleges that the Santones did not obtain a certified appraisal of the property or obtain financing and insurance to complete the deal. He also alleges the Santones failed to make the monthly payments. Charles Santone said Bazala has "jumped the gun" by filing a lawsuit. He said a closing on the sale is scheduled for next week. "They've been pushing for us to get this done," Santone said. "We've been dragging it out for a long time, and they're just pushing us to get it done." In April, First Commonwealth Bank filed a foreclosure against Bazala for defaulting on a mortgage that he took out in 2002. In June, a judgment was entered against Bazala for nearly $584,000. Santone, who formerly owned St. Clair Supply in Greensburg in the 1990s, has had financial problems in the past stemming from management of his former business. In 1999, he was sentenced to serve one to two years in prison after pleading guilty to willful failure to pay sales taxes, failing to pay withholding taxes and failure to file state income tax returns. Stephanie Weyandt, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Revenue, said Santone owes more than $374,900 in state taxes. Last year, Santone filed for bankruptcy three times. A federal bankruptcy judge in Pittsburgh ruled in May that he was using bankruptcy laws to shield himself from creditors and barred him from filing another bankruptcy petition for two years.

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