Owner's drug bust threatens Smartie Artie's

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said Friday he will investigate the possibility of seizing the assets of a popular restaurant and bar in Plum after its owner was arrested on drug charges.

Joseph Sciullo, 43, of Justine Drive in Plum, owner of Smartie Artie's on Route 286, was arrested Thursday night following a nine-month investigation conducted by Plum police and the District Attorney Narcotics Enforcement Team.

Frank Spena, 41, of Briar Ridge Drive, Turtle Creek, also was arrested in connection with the drug team's investigation.

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.

Both were arraigned at Night Court and released on their own recognizance pending a preliminary hearing at 10 a.m. Monday before Penn Hills District Justice Leonard Hromyak.

Zappala said the deputy district attorney in charge of forfeiture, Tom Swan, will explore the possibility of seizing the assets associated with the alleged drug activity.

Bob George, supervisor of the Liquor Control Enforcement Bureau, said an Allegheny County judge makes the determination if a bar is a nuisance. If the determination is made, the establishment is padlocked for one year, George 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.

Zappala said officers made a number of purchases of cocaine throughout the undercover investigation. Court documents indicate the drug transactions took place in Smartie Artie's.

The estimated street value of the drugs totals $10,000, Zappala said.

According to court documents, officers used confidential informants who were wearing recording devices for the drug transactions. On Dec. 5, an informant purchased eight grams of cocaine for $250 from Sciullo in Smartie Artie's, the documents said.

On Dec. 21, Sciullo fronted an informant 28 grams of cocaine, the documents said, and Sciullo told the informant he was owed $1,450 for the cocaine.

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.

"Sciullo on tape made admissions that he received the cocaine from Frank Spena," the court papers said.

Also on Dec. 21, officers bought cocaine from Spena at Smartie Artie's, according to court records.

Denis Gielas of Murrysville, a frequent patron of Smartie Artie's, said yesterday he doesn't think the bar should be shut down.

"It doesn't seem to fit the role or the model of (a nuisance bar)," said Gielas, who had lunch yesterday at Smartie Artie's and described the bar as a popular place for young people to go.

"It's a good hangout in the evening for high school kids," Gielas said.

Gielas described Sciullo as a "nice, likable guy."

"Whatever he (Sciullo) did is a shame," Gielas said. "But don't take the food, the hot wings away."

Smartie Artie's, which opened in November 1985, does not have a long history of violations, according to the state Liquor Control Board. Donna Pinkham, press secretary for the LCB, said Smartie Artie's was fined $1,000 in 1999 after being cited for selling alcohol to a 20-year-old.

In 1993, Smartie Artie's was cited three times for having a lottery machine on the premises and not having approval from the LCB. A $150 fine was paid, Pinkham said.

Two years earlier, Smartie Artie's was fined $50 for advertising on the premises. Pinkham said the action no longer is a violation.