Two men convicted last year of the armed holdup of a Salem Township strip club that netted them bagsful of small bills could spend more than two decades behind bars.

Joseph C. Zvara, 30, and Jamie Collingwood, 29, both of Greensburg, were sentenced Tuesday for their roles in the July 24, 2007, robbery of the Beehive Show Bar and other related offenses.

Zvara was ordered by Westmoreland County Judge Rita Hathaway to serve 12 to 34 years in prison. Collingwood was sentenced to a term of 8 1/2 to 27 years in prison.

During a two-day trial in October, prosecutors contended that Zvara and Collingwood broke into a house in Hempfield and stole two guns. Days later, they stormed into the Beehive on Route 22, put a gun to the bouncer's head and demanded two bags of money.

Zvara was convicted of brandishing the gun during the heist.

They left the strip club with money bags filled with $1,100 in $1 and $5 bills, according to police.

About a week later, on Aug. 4, Zvara and Collingwood stole a car from the Sheetz gas station in New Stanton and made their way across country. They were arrested in Las Vegas in early September.

Surveillance video from the Beehive shown to jurors during the trial showed two men, one wearing a baseball cap and the other a bandanna, pointing a gun at the club's bouncer and demanding cash.

The bouncer, Charles Galzarano, and two dancers identified Zvara and Collingwood as the men in the video.

Jurors acquitted both men of theft charges associated with the allegations they stole guns from the Hempfield house.

During an interview with state police Trooper Patrick Nied in August, two months before the trial, Zvara claimed he would return to a life of crime once released from prison.

"He said, 'As soon as I get out of here ... I'll do it right and go out with a bang,'" Nied testified yesterday.

Zvara recanted that statement, and in court yesterday he apologized for his actions. He said his participation in a program at the Westmoreland County Prison to warn children against committing crimes has led to revelations about his own actions.

"It made me realize how wrong my life has been," Zvara said.

Collingwood made no statements during the sentencing hearing.

Hathaway imposed consecutive sentences against Zvara for robbery, car theft and possession of a weapon.

"I think a lengthy period of incarceration is warranted in your case to protect society," Hathaway said.

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