Dumped; Hot dog vendor fined, told to avoid transfer station in Derry

By Margo Sullivan
Staff writer

May 09, 2008 10:34 am

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DERRY — The monthslong battle between Town Administrator Gary Stenhouse and a local hot dog vendor ended in a split decision yesterday in Derry District Court.

Thomas Souhlaris, the hot dog cart owner, was found guilty of one count of criminal trespassing, and cleared of a second count. He was fined $2,000, which he won't have to pay as long as he stays away from the town transfer station.

In January, Derry police arrested Souhlaris, who had been selling breakfast sandwiches and coffee at the town dump, on trespassing charges for placing his cart on town property. He has been selling hot dogs and sandwiches at the Derry rotary in recent years, never running afoul of town officials.

This winter, when the snow piled up by the rotary and hid his cart from customers' view, he accepted an invitation from a transfer station employee to bring the cart to the dump and park it outside the gate, he told the court yesterday.

"Everybody was happy," he said.

Souhlaris, 51, said he was making $100 more a day at the dump than he had been at the rotary. He was paying his bills, his wife was pleased, and the transfer station workers enjoyed having fresh coffee and food at their gate.

When town officials complained three weeks after he started selling at his new location, he defended his rights and said he was running a legal business. He had the necessary licenses and permits from the state and the town to sell food. He also showed police the paperwork that showed he was carrying $2 million in liability insurance and had passed all of the health inspections with flying colors.

But Stenhouse said on the witness stand yesterday that the permits didn't give Souhlaris the right to put his cart on town property. Town councilors had instructed the town administrator to look into the legal issues after the hot dog vendor went to the council for help in getting permission to move his cart to the dump.

The next day, Stenhouse said he told Souhlaris not to go back to the dump. Stenhouse said he was worried about liability. Stenhouse said under the local laws, the town administrator has ultimate authority on the use of town property.

Ultimately, Souhlaris was charged with two counts of criminal trespassing. He went to court yesterday to clear his name, he said, and left with his mission 50 percent accomplished.

His attorney, Richard Sheehan of Londonderry, argued that the town did not give Souhlaris due process when it changed its permitting process without telling him the rules also had changed.

Under the old way of obtaining a hawker and peddler's permit, Souhlaris applied to the Recreation Department. He received his permit and paperwork showing where he was not allowed to sell.

But in June 2007, the town put the Health Department in charge of permits. Souhlaris scheduled the health inspection, passed it, and was told his license was renewed. But he said he was never told that the places that were off-limits had been expanded to encompass all town property and never received any paperwork explaining he was no longer allowed to set up his cart on town property.

Judge John Coughlin agreed the change could have caused confusion about where Souhlaris was allowed to put his cart. "There is a reasonable doubt," he said, and found Souhlaris not guilty of trespassing on town property on Jan. 30.

But the judge also said a police officer clearly told Souhlaris on Jan. 30 that he would be arrested if he returned to the dump with his hot dog cart. Despite this warning, Souhlaris went back the next day.

Coughlin found Souhlaris guilty of trespassing on Jan. 31, and fined him $2,000. The fine was suspended for a year, meaning Souhlaris won't have to pay it as long as he stays on good behavior. Coughlin told him that in this case, good behavior means not selling hot dogs at the dump — until he has a license which expressly gives him permission.

Sheehan, Souhlaris' lawyer, said he will appeal the conviction.

"If he's not guilty on the 30th, he's not guilty on the 31st," he said.

To be convicted of criminal trespassing, a suspect has to know he doesn't have the right to be on the property, Sheehan said. Souhlaris had the licenses and permits, and thought he had the right.

"I feel all right," Souhlaris said after the two-hour trial was over. "I just want to be able to go down to the dump in the winter and sell hot dogs. That's all."

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