Former Senator Theatre Owner Arrested

Tom Kiefaber, the former owner of the Senator Theatre and , was arrested for trespassing on Monday, according to Baltimore City police.

Anthony Guglielmi, a police spokesman, confirmed via email that Kiefaber had been arrested.

Maj. Sabrina Tapp-Harper, commander of the Northern District, said that Kiefaber was arrested at the Senator Theatre, 5904 York Road, at about 10 a.m. Monday.

Tapp-Harper, who was not at the scene, said the supervisor that was there at the time of the arrest reported Kiefaber allegedly made threats to harm people inside the building, but could not confirm what exactly he said.

According to electronic court records, James "Buzz" Cusack, the theater’s current operator, filed seven charges against Kiefaber during the last month related to harassment and trespassing.

Last year Kiefaber was after a protective order was issued to Cusack’s daughter and business partner Kathleen Lyon. The protective order was issued after a confrontation between Kiefaber and theater employees during a midnight screening of the final Harry Potter film.

Kiefaber also caused a stir last year when he during a City Council meeting because he was upset about a bill placing the historic theater’s interior on the city landmark list.

He challenged City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young in the 2011 Democratic primary and lost. 

Kiefaber, and a group called Friends of the Senator, have recently been documenting the ongoing rehabilitation of the theater via their Facebook page, and what they allege are violations occurring at the site.

He was the owner of the theater until a few years ago when financial problems forced him to relinquish the art deco building that was built by his family. Kiefaber has maintained that the city handled the situation poorly, and that it sabotaged his efforts to turn the theater over to a nonprofit to run as a mixed use entertainment venue.  

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