Citation threatens liquor license for Smartie Arties
Smartie Artie's bar and restaurant in Plum faces a state Liquor Control Board citation that could lead to suspension or revocation of its liquor license, officials said Monday.
The citation involves allegations of drug sales at the business along Route 286.
Also yesterday, a co-owner of the Smartie Artie's and another man waived their preliminary hearings on charges of selling cocaine there.
Co-owner Joseph Sciullo, 43, of Justine Drive in Plum, and Frank Spena, 42, of Briar Ridge Drive in Turtle Creek, were arrested Jan. 9 by Plum police and the Allegheny County District Attorney Narcotics Enforcement Team.
Drug transactions at the restaurant totaled $10,000, officials said.
The LCB citation comes as Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said his office and Plum police continue to investigate whether the bar should be declared a nuisance and closed.
Plum Mayor John Schmeck, who earlier this year vowed to do all he could to close the bar, had no comment yesterday on the criminal case or nuisance bar investigation.
LCB spokeswoman Molly McGowan said Smartie Artie's was issued a two-count citation on April 2 in connection with alleged drug transactions on Dec. 5 and Dec. 21. McGowan said if the ownership is found guilty of the allegations, Smartie Artie's liquor license could be suspended or revoked, and owners could be fined $1,000 to $5,000.
Attorney Timothy J. Kidd, who represents Arthur Sciullo, co-owner of the restaurant and Joseph Sciullo's father, said yesterday he had not seen the citation and could not comment. Kidd said Arthur Sciullo, who will turn 68 in June, has taken a more active role in the operation of the establishment since his son's arrest.
McGowan said the case will be referred to an administrative law judge and Smartie Artie's owners can request a hearing.
Joseph Sciullo is charged with two counts of possession, two counts of possession with intent to deliver, two counts of delivery and one count of criminal conspiracy. Spena is charged with one count of possession, one count of possession with intent to deliver, one count of delivery and one count of criminal conspiracy.
Sciullo and Spena are free on their own recognizance.
According to court documents, an informant purchased eight grams of cocaine on Dec. 5, 2002, for $250 from Sciullo in Smartie Artie's. On Dec. 21, Sciullo fronted an informant 28 grams of cocaine and Sciullo told the informant he owed $1,450 for the cocaine, the documents said. On Dec. 24, an informant met Spena at a gas station on Old William Penn Highway in Penn Hills and paid him $1,450, the documents said.
Also on Dec. 21, officers bought cocaine from Spena at Smartie Artie's, according to court records.
Smartie Artie's current liquor license expires May 31. The bar opened in 1985 and does not have a long history of violations, the LCB said.
The three criteria evaluated to determine whether a bar is a nuisance are: citation history, police reports and community input or testimony from residents and business owners that the establishment has a negative impact on the community.
McGowan said the citations must be resolved before the LCB will consider Arthur Sciullo's application to establish a new corporation in which he would be the sole shareholder.
