Kleefield Turns Himself Into Sag Harbor Police; Charged With Issuing Bad Checks To Employee

By Kelly Carroll | 6 Comments

Kleefield is the owner of Sag Harbor's Grappa Wine Bar and JLX Bistro. Photo by Christine Bellini

Sag Harbor - Ed "Jean Luc" Kleefield, proprietor of Hamptons eateries JLX Bistro, Grappa Wine Bar, Prime 103 and Madame Tong's, turned himself in and was subsequently arrested in Sag Harbor Monday, June 22 for issuing bad checks, a second such offense in the last two months.

Recently, Kleefield faced police at the Madame Tong's property. Photo by Kelly Carroll

According to Sag Harbor village police, Kleefield, 43, turned himself in at police headquarters at approximately 2:30 p.m. Monday. According to reports, the Class B misdemeanor charge stems from Kleefield's alleged issuing of several checks to an employee which subsequently were returned for insufficient funds.

In April, Kleefield was arrested by Southampton village police and charged with two counts of writing bad checks. The checks, written for the purpose of paying back loans handed over by LGP Foundations President Lyle Pike last year, totaled a little less than $300,000. Since the arrest, Kleefield and Pike have battled over ownership of the Madame Tong's property on Elm Street in Southampton.

As of Tuesday morning, Sag Harbor police stated that the paperwork on the Kleefield arrest was not yet complete, and were unsure how much money the issued checks totaled. Kleefield was released for a future court appearance.

Comments

Clarice from So. Hamptons says:
I feel bad for anyone who dines at Madam Tongs. There is no dishwasher on premise. They are washing dishes by hand. The place is a filty disaster and the Board of Health was notified but saw no action. I don't get it! Jean Luc your a mennace.

theguru from Sag Harbor says:
Ed has ruined two prime business spaces for 3- 4 years in Sag Harbor. Not paid employees, vendors, everybody. Writes bad checks. Lies openly and repeatedly. He actually claims that these checks were forgeries and he is condsidering a lawsuit. Yeah, right. Against one of your managers who desparately issued the checks in order to keep your house of cards floating one more day. This man is truly a pathetic parasite and need 5-10 years in the Big House. Bon Voyage. PS. Where's that clown you promised for the opening of Mumbo Gumbo? I showed up and NO CLOWN! Probably didn't pay him.

Tom Boxer from The Hamptons says:
No matter what alias he uses, French or otherwise, he's still just plain "Ed" - another flash-in-the-pan, wanna-be superstar that everyone fawned over when he arrived, but turned out to be just another carpetbagger who left a wake of unpaid workers and outstanding bills behind him. Behind bars is just where he belongs, and I'm sure his cell-mates will have another fitting alias for him.

Dodger from Southampton Village says:
If I wasn't feeling so sorry for the employees of these restaurants, I would suggest a boycott of them all. How many violations of employment law can this guy break and still run a business???

Red Devil from Mariner Dr. says:
Jean Luc is over baby.

Mike from Sag Harb says:
Jean-Loser. He's the gift that keeps on giving for the local news.