Dogfighting probe targets Beaver County probation officer

A Beaver County probation officer and basketball coach is under investigation on suspicion of breeding dogs to fight and holding fights in his house, according to a search warrant unsealed this week.

Nick Lackovich, 53, has not been charged, but a search warrant was executed at his Center Township home in August. His attorney, Stephen Colafella, petitioned the court to unseal the warrant.

Colafella did not return requests for comment. Lackovich could not be reached for comment.

Lackovich is a county probation officer. That tie to law enforcement led the state trooper investigating the case to request that the warrant be sealed.

Lackovich is the head boys basketball coach at Aliquippa High School. Aliquippa Superintendent David Wytiaz said the district is aware of the investigation, and that Lackovich has not been suspended and remains employed by the district.

The Aliquippa school board in April renewed Lackovich's contract as coach beginning July 1, 2016, and running through April 1, 2019, at a salary of $8,824.20.

According to the affidavit of probable cause for the search warrant, a source contacted state police Aug. 5 with a tip that Lackovich held a dogfight at his Center home four nights prior. The source told police that he attended the illegal event, which included four fights that lasted between 25 and 90 minutes.

The source told officers that Lackovich held the fights at his home “in a very nice neighborhood,” but kept the dogs at a second property he owned “in a bad area.” Police said they drove past that house and found it rundown with dog kennels and heavy chains in the yard.

Police said a neighbor reported increased traffic in the area and that “something was definitely going on at the residence” on the night of the alleged fight.

Police contacted Janette Reevers, deputy manager of animal fight investigation with the Humane Society of the United States. Reevers told police that she was familiar with the source who contacted police and told them that he had proved reliable in previous cases.

Reevers told the Tribune-Review on Friday that dogfighting has long been a big problem in Pennsylvania.

“It's not just in rural areas — it's also in urban environments,” she said.

Police said the source provided a bloodline form containing Lackovich's signature identifying himself as the breeder, as well as links to websites and online forums utilized by Lackovich, who used the name “Quip Boy.”

Police said the links referred to Quip Boy as having quality dogs, and one listed four generations of Quip Boy pedigrees.

The search warrant was seeking animals with signs of abuse, items related to fighting such as exercise equipment, magazines, documents and animal medications, computers, cellphones and digital storage and restraints, crates and training records, among other things.

Pennsylvania in July passed a law criminalizing the possession of dogfighting paraphernalia, which includes any device or drug intended for use in animal fighting or training animals to fight, but the law did not go into effect until September, after the search was conducted.

Police did not enumerate what was seized.

The search warrant cited a second source who said Lackovich has been seen reading dogfighting magazines, which include fight results and advertisements for puppies and paraphernalia for sale.

State police in Beaver declined to comment beyond saying the investigation is ongoing.

Megan Guza is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-380-8519 or mguza@tribweb.com.