The state's inspector general has concluded that a rep from the governor's office exerted improper influence over the state liquor board's vote on renewing the liquor license for the scandalized Cipriani Family. The report concerning Khari Edwards that the deputy of a former Paterson aide "finds that Edwards is ill-suited to serve as a representative of the governor's office, and recommends that his employment be terminated." Carl Andrews, the aide who Edwards served under, resigned abruptly in December. Edwards is accused of placing a call during the commission's meeting in August which led SLA Commissioner Jeanique Greene to say that she was "furious to have received such a call and, once she learned the call related to the Ciprianis, she knew it was inappropriate." The Cipriani vote ended up split on party lines with the two SLA members appointed by Democrats voting for renewal and SLA Chairman Daniel Boyle, a Pataki appointee, voting against. Boyle also has claimed that the Paterson aide who has since resigned, Carl Anderson, tried to intimidate him into a yes vote, but the inspector general was able to conclusively confirm that claim. more ›

Restaurateurs the Cipriani family are no strangers to running on the wrong side of the law and now it appears that their next generation is ready to step in and carry on their troublesome traditions. 20-year-old Ignazio Cipriani and a friend were arrested for third-degree assault after sucker-punching a limo driver outside of Chelsea nightclub 1Oak. The young Cipriani had been drunkenly raising a ruckus when he was denied admission and soon decided to target the driver. After hitting the ground once he got clocked, the chauffer tells the Post, "My head was part way under a car, and I opened one eye and saw two guys kicking me." A lawyer for Cipriani told the press, "This is nothing more than a group of young people pushing and shoving in front of a nightclub. We don't see a crime here at all." The 10ak was last in the news over the summer for tossing unwanteds from the club—specifically employees who claimed they were fired because the owner "only wanted white girls working there." more ›

According to Eater, vendors supplying the Cipriani restaurant empire have had trouble getting paid, and the Ciprianis have been withholding rent payments because of a drawn-out rent arbitration with the landlord. The original ten year lease signed in 1998 was for $4 million a year, then a property reappraisal increased the rent to $8.7 million in February 2007, the Daily News reports. Last month the rent was lowered to $6 million, but now the Ciprianis are suing, accusing the property owner of trying to "force Cipriani out of business at the premises and thus out of the premises." more ›

Owners of the Rainbow Room think that the best way to class up the joint is to show the Cipriani family to the door. On the heels of last week's announcement that the Rainbow Grill would close its doors, the (in)famous restaurateur family has now been evicted from their spot on Top of the Rock for failure to pay the last four months' rent. A spokesman for Tishman Speyer, the company that serves as their landlord, told the Times, "The Rainbow Room is one of our city’s great institutions, and we will immediately begin the process of finding another great restaurateur to operate the space in the first-class manner that New Yorkers and visitors deserve.” The Ciprianis, of course, are not just laying down. They recently won an arbitration case to lower what they called "and insanely high" rent imposed by Tishman Speyer from $8.7 to $6 million. The family released a statement yesterday saying, "Unfortunately, we are dealing with an uncompassionate and greedy landlord who has not made any efforts to resolve our differences in a reasonable manner." more ›