Boston restaurant owner says "entitled" Patriots players held after-hours party that drew police response

A Boston restaurant owner is alleging some "entitled" New England Patriots players threw a late-night party that got him in trouble with the city's licensing board.

According to a police report, officers responded to a noise complaint on Jan. 27 at 2:19 a.m. at Estella in downtown Boston, where they were told that "there was a private party downstairs and that it was all Patriots players." Under state law, restaurants, bars and clubs are supposed to close by 2 a.m. 

Officers wrote that downstairs they found a DJ, hookahs, "multiple exotic dancers" who were nude or partially nude, and $1 bills spread out on the floor. Police cited the restaurant for licensing violations that included selling liquor after hours, indoor smoking and "unauthorized entertainment (unclothed dancers)."

Helder George Brandao told the Boston Licensing Board that as the owner of Estella, he is "fully responsible" for the alleged violations. He said to the board that about a dozen Patriots players were in attendance, and they brought their own security, hookahs, DJ, dancers and alcohol. Just two days earlier, the team won the AFC Championship Game in Denver to punch their ticket to Super Bowl LX.

"Some of the big players came in through the back," Brandao said, without identifying any of the players. "They didn't want to be seen."

Brandao said he had urged the players to wrap up the party earlier, but they didn't leave in time. He also said they didn't pay the tab for two bottles of liquor from the restaurant. 

WBZ-TV reached out to the team for comment, but they have not responded.

Brandao opened a second Estella location at Foxboro's Patriot Place last year. Now he says he's considering a lawsuit against the unnamed players that he referred to as "entitled people."

"I made a mistake and I trusted people that I built relationships with at Patriot Place," he said in a recorded hearing before the board. "There's a sense of entitlement that these players think they can do whatever they want."

The licensing board will vote Thursday on whether the restaurant will be punished.

"There are no exceptions in our entertainment rules for celebrities," board chair Kathleen Joyce said.