DATE: Thursday, September 25, 1997          TAG: 9709250361

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A16  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   60 lines

CO-OWNER OF THE JEWISH MOTHER FOLLOWS THE SENATE HEARING ON IRS WITH RELISH

Still waiting for the trial of the Jewish Mother vs. the Internal Revenue Service?

Better grab a corned beef sandwich and a cool brew. It'll be a while.

The Jewish Mother case - centering on a botched 1994 IRS raid on the popular Oceanfront restaurant - was originally scheduled for trial last April. It is now on hold indefinitely, pending a pre-trial appeal.

And don't look for the Jewish Mother owners to testify at this week's Senate hearing into IRS abuses, either. They won't appear because of the pending lawsuit.

Jewish Mother co-owner John Colaprete, who says he was abused at the hands of the IRS, is following the hearings with relish.

``This is finally coming to a head,'' Colaprete said Tuesday. ``The hearings were long in coming. They need to be scrutinized by the American public, to realize that this can happen to any one of us.''

Jewish Mother co-owners Colaprete and Ted Bonk and former manager Scotty Miller are suing 10 IRS agents and 13 state liquor agents for $20 million, claiming they were the victims of illegal and overzealous raids. The lawsuit is pending in Norfolk's federal court.

On April 2, 1994, the IRS and the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Department conducted four simultaneous raids at Jewish Mother restaurants in Virginia Beach and Norfolk and the homes of Colaprete and Miller.

The agents, armed with rifles and accompanied by drug-sniffing dogs, allegedly rousted Miller from the shower at gunpoint, broke up his daughter's slumber party and literally pulled forks from the hands of restaurant customers after bursting into the Oceanfront eatery.

The agents confiscated a large truckload of material, including financial records, computers and cash registers, from the restaurants and homes.

Five months later, with no explanation, the IRS announced that the investigation was over. No one was charged with a crime, and no apology was given.

In March 1996, Colaprete, Bonk and Miller sued.

The case has attracted nationwide attention. Since January, it has been featured in stories about IRS abuses in Money magazine and on CBS News and NBC's ``Dateline.''

The trial, however, may not happen for a long time - perhaps another year or two. That's unusual in Norfolk's federal court, with its so-called ``rocket docket,'' where most cases speed to trial within a year.

The Jewish Mother case has been hung up on an appeal by the state ABC agents. They say they cannot be sued in federal court. A Norfolk judge ruled against them a year ago.

Since then, the issue has been pending at the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. It was argued in June, and a ruling is expected soon. Whatever the three-judge panel says, however, it probably will be appealed again to the full court, and then to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, no trial date can be set.

In April, Senate investigators called the Jewish Mother's attorney, Robert Haddad of Virginia Beach, to discuss the case. At first they wanted someone from the Jewish Mother to testify in Washington, Haddad said, then backed off when they realized the lawsuit was still pending.

Colaprete said he wishes he could testify. ``They seem to be untouchable,'' he said of the IRS. ``There are no balances and checks whatsoever.''

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