A South Beach hotel owner, Rod Eisenberg, was arrested Friday afternoon charged with allegedly operating a fair and also a hotel, Sadigo Court Hotel & Suites, 334 20th Street , according to Miami Beach police.

The setting of his arrest: an adorned hotel lobby that hosted the Pool Art Fair, a venue known to feature unrepresented global artists — one of 16 adjuncts to Miami’s famous Art Basel.

“The show that was being held there did not have a special events permit,” said Nannette Rodriguez, Miami Beach police spokeswoman. “On top of that, he is running an illegal hotel. We learned that the artists were guests of this building.”

Eisenberg was taken to Miami-Dade County Jail after the arrest.

Police and fire officials say they came across an email that promoted the fair, so they went there to verify its occurrence, immediately shutting it down.

“When we got there, the notice wasn’t even on the hotel doors,” Rodriguez said. “The officers then went door to door, asking all guests to evacuate.”

Eisenberg isn’t a stranger to the station though. According to police, he has been warned and stickered in the past, also being issued a cease-and-desist order several months ago.

Miami artist Sheila Elias was supposed to be a participant at the event. After she and 26 other presenters were forced to gather their art and leave, Elias said the emotion was just too much.

“Some of these guys had 10-foot paintings. It was heartbreaking,” Elias said. “We were supposed to start Friday and end Sunday. They shut us down just minutes before our fair. Some of our artists drove from New York, while others flew from Paris, Portugal, Korea and even China. We’ve been doing this for seven years.”

According to Thierry Alet, the founder of PooL Art Fair, the 27 artists did pay hotel fees depending on the size of the room in which they wanted to display their art in.

“The concept is that it’s in a hotel, and rather than going from booth to booth to see different artists, you go from room to room, creating a unique and personal setting,” said Heidi Miller, Elias’ studio director. “However, police went from room to room to room taking photographs and documenting what was happening.”

Miller said Elias had paid $2,000 to $2, 500 for the three-day lodging expenses. She said she did not know that the hotel had such violations.

It is unclear where the money went and how it was being used. It is also unknown whether or not Eisenberg had an attorney.

“Someone made money. We just don’t know who and how yet,” Rodriguez said. “Still under investigation.”

Guests of the hotel had to find another place for them and their artwork to stay. However Elias joked that artists forced themselves to relax.

“People passed around wine and chocolate. I never touched the wine, but I wasn’t going to leave my chocolates in there,” Elias said. “Hysterical.”