Broome Co. District Attorney’s Office responds to motion to have charges against former The Colonial owners dismissed

BINGHAMTON (WBNG) -- The Broome County District Attorney’s Office filed a response to a motion to have the charges against two former owners of The Colonial Bar & Restaurant, and one of the owner’s brother, dropped.

Those charges include rape and drug felonies. In February, lawyers for Jordan Ringden and Yaron Kweller; who owned the bar, and Leor Kweller; Yaron’s brother dismissed. The lawyers, which include defense attorneys Paul Battisti and Thomas Jackson, as well as New York City-based defense attorneys Elena Fast and Andrea Zellan, said there is insufficient evidence to support the 12 charges against them.

In March 2022, Yaron and Leor Kweller pleaded not guilty to rape. Ringden pleaded not guilty to drug and sex crime charges.

On Tuesday, the Office of Broome County District Attorney Michael Korchak said it disagrees with the motion to dismiss charges. Korchak’s office said the evidence is sufficient to support the indictment and provides reasonable cause to believe the defendants committed the crimes as charged.

12 News reached out to Korchak’s office for comment on filing the opposition response to the motion to dismiss. Yet, the office said, “There is no timetable for a decision by the court. At this time, we are not permitted to discuss the facts of the case and will be litigating the matter in court.”

A joint statement from Fast, Zellan, Battisti and Jackson said, “The defense will be filing a reply to The People’s motion [Tuesday] afternoon. We patiently await the court’s ruling.”

In December 2021, accusations of sexual misconduct at The Colonial circulated online, stemming from a Nov. 27, 2021 incident that occurred at 141 Washington St. in Binghamton.

Yaron Kweller and Rindgen were arrested in February 2022. Leor Kweller was arrested five days later.

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