It's 2 a.m. on a recent Saturday night and, by law, most of the city's bars and nightclubs are shutting down and ushering party-goers into the streets. But for some club-hoppers, the early morning is too early to leave. A few after-hours clubs in the city are just getting ready for the rush. 'We want to keep on going,' Judy Porter, 27, of Cleveland said recently as she and two friends searched for an after-hours club in the Strip District. 'I don't want to go home at 2 a.m.' Some Pittsburgh leaders want to crack down on late-night parties at clubs that serve alcohol illegally, citing fights, murders and other problems at a handful of these clubs. They are looking to the state to strengthen its enforcement of liquor laws and are examining local legislation that could enable police to increase penalties for illegal after-hours clubs. 'There are deficiencies in the state law, combined with a lack of enforcement on the part of the state,' said City Councilwoman Barbara Burns, who is researching a possible city ordinance to reduce after-hours drinking. Burns' district covers the North Side. Part of the crackdown will come in May, when liquor licenses are set to expire. The Pittsburgh Nuisance Bar Task Force will challenge about 20 liquor licenses, said city vice squad Detective Stacey McRoberts, who coordinates the task force. Under state law, licensed private clubs can serve alcohol until 3 a.m. However, a n unknown number of after-hours clubs are not licensed to serve alcohol. Many operate illegally, charging a cover for entrance and then providing 'free' alcohol to patrons, police said. The state's Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement conducts raids every weekend in a six-county area based on complaints it receives for licensed clubs and bars. Local police are responsible for cracking down on unlicensed clubs. 'We conduct patrols of all licensed establishments, but we pay particular attention to those where we get complaints,' said Bureau Supervisor Sam Yurich. 'But the fact is, if you have a low-key operation with no complaints, it's liable to go unnoticed.' The Bureau doesn't have jurisdiction over nonlicensed clubs. Police say they can cite the clubs, but the fines for violating that law, however, is only a summary offense. The fine is $300 plus court costs. 'That just doesn't cut it,' McRoberts said. 'The fine they have to pay, if they're convicted, they make three times that in one night. And when we go in and seize all their alcohol, they're back in business two days later.' The state Liquor Control Board says there are about 370 establishments in Allegheny County with club licenses. These include fraternal organizations, fire halls and after-hours clubs. Although a few of the problem bars are licensed - the Squawkers Club in the Hill District, shutdown after a lengthy court battle, was a notable licensed private club - most problems are coming from unlicensed, 'bottle clubs,' police said. 'Obviously there's a demand for these places,' said city police Cmdr. William Valenta, who oversees the Zone 2 station in the Hill District. His zone includes the Hill District, Downtown and the Strip District, all of which contain popular after-hours clubs. 'But people are getting hurt inside and outside many of these clubs. And a lot of the bars are operating outside the law,' he said. McRoberts' task force compiles complaints and reports about the clubs from the city's six police zones and investigation squads. The committee members - which includes representatives of the police, county Health Department, Liquor Control Board and state police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement - then prioritize which bars and clubs need to be investigated. Certain bars and clubs are 'red flagged' so police know where past problems have been reported. Complaints and police reports, particularly those connected to after-hours clubs, are piling up, police say. Two people died last month after confrontations outside two Downtown clubs on separate occasions. David Nied, 27, of West View, was beaten unconscious by a group outside the Chaos Club at Fifth and Penn avenues on Feb 17. He died last week. A week before, Jaime Daniels, 21, of Knoxville, was shot to death while driving home from the SLP Club on Fifth Avenue and Smithfield Street. In January, Lance Chapeman, 22, of East Liberty, survived a shooting outside the Upscale Club in his neighborhood. None of those three clubs is a licensed bar, police said. Such incidents, along with the assaults, robberies and drug activity, put a strain on police, Valenta said. 'We expect that at 3 a.m., the city's going to quiet down,' he said. 'So we gear our resources, and put more officers on the street, during the 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. slots. But on weekends we're running into problems all the way to 5 a.m. and a lot of them are connected to these clubs.' Dolores Muick, president of the Fifties Club on Penn Avenue, Strip District, said her after-hours establishment has been open for seven years without any problems. Muick often works the club's door and checks membership cards, which patrons must have to enter. She said she's aware of the problems some after-hours clubs have had, and the perception people might get. 'I don't think it's fair to categorize all clubs as problems,' she said. 'Clubs like ours operate for the good of our membership.' Complaints and incident reports on licensed bars are sent to the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, a civilian unit run by the state police that investigates possible violations. But the bureau can't enforce laws at bottle clubs. That is the job of local police. McRoberts and Burns said they want to strengthen the bottle-club law locally with an ordinance that would increase the penalty for serving alcohol after hours to a misdemeanor or felony. The fine for a misdemeanor ranges from $2,500 to $10,000. They are looking to other cities, such as Harrisburg, that have passed stronger laws. In Harrisburg, all bottle clubs must have a special permit from the city. 'That would help keep them responsible for what happens in and around their bars,' McRoberts said. Burns has asked the city law department to research the issue of legislating bottle clubs and the task force will continue to research model ordinances. David Conti can be reached at dconti@tribweb.com or (412) 441-0976.

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