It was the last straw for Selectmen when they unanimously voted to revoke the junk license for Charles Lewis, owner of Cash for Stuff, at 3245 Cranberry Highway on Tuesday night.

Lewis' license was suspended from April 29 to June 16, but he was found to have been running his business --illegally without a license-- on June 12, a claim Lewis doesn't deny.

"I did go against the town rules and I apologize for that," he said at Tuesday's hearing.

According to a police report read into the record, a Wareham police officer bought a hockey stick from Lewis' shop while other customers were shopping in the store as well.

Junk shops have been a hot button issue in town since spring Town Meeting in April, when it was revealed that anyone selling secondhand goods in the town of Wareham must have a junk dealers license. The fact that there are only five licenses available in town but upwards of 60 businesses who sell secondhand items in town has put the situation in a legal gray area.

Lewis has repeatedly come before Selectmen due to continuous concerns of the health and safety conditions of his junk shops on Cranberry Highway.

Last October Lewis was granted a license at his 3245 Cranberry Highway location, with a number of stipulations, and was denied a license for his shop at 3178 Cranberry Highway. On March 17, representatives of the Town Inspectional Services, the Board of Health and the Onset Fire Department visited his location at 3245 Cranberry Highway and found numerous health and safety violations at the building.

At a followup visit a month later, most of the violations had been taken care of, save for roof repairs that were the property owner's responsibility to fix, not tenant Lewis'. Interim Building Inspector David Moore said, however, he would not give the building an occupancy permit in its current condition.

"This has been a touchy license from the beginning," said Selectman Patrick Tropeano at a hearing on April 29. "This board has given you a lot of leeway."

Selectmen Steve Holmes and Judith Whiteside repeatedly voted to revoke Lewis's license at that meeting, but failed to convince any of their fellow members to join them and create a majority vote. Eventually, Whiteside joined the three others as part of a 4-1 vote to suspend the license, with Holmes still dissenting.

Lewis was upset that he was being put out of business while other junk dealers near him are currently operating without a license.

"We're going to address other unlicensed businesses, but right now we're looking at your business," said Town Attorney Richard Bowen.