Fire company pleads guilty to liquor charge

June 07, 2002|by STACEY DANZUSO

chambersburg@herald-mail.com

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Officials of the South Mountain Fire Co. pleaded guilty Wednesday to illegally selling alcohol on its premises this winter, according to Franklin County Court officials.

The fire company was ordered to pay a $100 fine and court costs, court officials said.

In January, the Pennsylvania State Police Liquor Enforcement Office in Harrisburg, Pa., received an anonymous tip that the fire company at 11207 Loop Road in Guilford Township, would hold an event on Feb. 2, that included the sale of liquor or malt or brewed beverages, according to court records.

Trooper Cynthia A. Taylor purchased a $20 ticket to the event in advance. When she arrived at 6 p.m. the day of the event she was told the ticket price included the meal and unlimited beverages, court records show.

Taylor picked up a can of Coors Light from a plastic tub in the back room, records show.

A second officer entered the fire company hall without a ticket and asked fire company members about signs on the wall that read "Free Drinks." After being told repeatedly he could only drink the free beer if he had a ticket, he left, according to court records.

A few minutes later other officers outside the fire hall told two trustees of the fire company about the investigation. The trustees admitted they did not have a liquor license, according to court records.

Guilford Township is a dry township, but the fire trustees told police they were under the assumption that if they posted the beer was free and you must be 21 to obtain it, they were operating legally, court records show.

The fire company was charged with one count of unlicensed consent of the sale of malt or brewed beverages on the premises, according to court records.

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