Background: News footage of Dave's Long Pond Pub in Greece, N.Y. (WHAM). Inset: John Acito (Vay-Schleich & Meeson Funeral and Cremation Chapels).
A New York man who died after hitting his head and passing out at a bar was being served alcohol after closing time, police said.
John Acito, 68, was a patron of Dave's Long Pond Pub in Greece, New York, on the night of Dec. 16, 2025, and stayed until the early hours of the morning. But the faithful customer, who had lost his wife in 2023, never made it home. In a press release, the Greece Police Department said surveillance cameras caught Acito "swaying, falling, and striking his head on a table and the floor," where he remained for the next "30 to 40 minutes."
Three bar employees later told police they found Acito passed out outside the bar, and now all of them have been charged with tampering with evidence.
Local ABC affiliate WHAM reported that police were called to the bar at 3:24 a.m. to respond to a report of an unconscious man in the parking lot. Acito was taken to the hospital to be treated for a "significant head injury." After spending two weeks in a coma, he died on Jan. 1.
The medical examiner said his death was due to complications from the head injury, which was ruled an accident.
But while the three bar employees — bar owner David Geer, 64; cook John Moore, 58; and bartender Crystal McWilliams, 42 — were not charged in connection with Acito's death, police determined that their initial story did not add up.
Det. Sgt. Jeffrey Dill told WHAM that Acito was being served drinks as late as 3 a.m., an hour past the legal 2 a.m. closing time in New York's Monroe County. Dill said that the employees "concocted a story to protect the bar."
In the press release, police said surveillance video from the bar showed employees putting Acito's jacket on the unconscious man and "moving him toward the front door." Dill told WHAM that Geer, Moore, and McWilliams "dragged the victim by the door" to make it look like he had been outside, "and then they mopped up the drag marks from where they had dragged him from."
Police said that Acito lay on the ground unconscious for "30 to 40 minutes" while the staff "continued closing duties."
The medical examiner stated that the delay in getting Acito help did not contribute to his death. However, Dill told WHAM the workers "had an opportunity to get him help immediately, and they didn't take that action. They were concerned with trying to protect the bar."
Geer, Moore, and McWilliams were all charged with tampering with evidence, a felony. WHAM reported that they are expected to appear in Greece Town Court but dates have not been made public.
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