The results of a police probe into the legality of Club Love's Thursday night drink special will not be released for at least six months, despite the investigation's recent conclusion.
Dennis Smolko, a supervisor with the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, confirmed that there was an investigation into Club Love, 129 1/2 S. Pugh St., after Penn State senior Michael Donahue was stabbed inside the nightclub Feb.17.
Smolko declined to release the results of the investigation, saying only that if there was a citation issued, it will be made public in about six months.
Club Love owner Tony Sapia defended his six-month special, which he described as "$10 and penny drinks."
However, a "$10 Open Bar" was advertised in The Daily Collegian's Venues Feb. 16, the day before Donahue's stabbing. Also, on April 11, Club Love bartender Jeffrey Jennings testified in the Centre County Courthouse that the special the night of the stabbing was an open bar.
Holding an open-bar drink special is prohibited, according to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. PA Code Title 40 designates that "the serving of unlimited or indefinite amounts of alcohol for a set price" is forbidden.
Sapia said, to his knowledge, the investigation into the nightclub's Thursday night drink special didn't result in legal action.
"We addressed any concerns we had related to the drinks specials," Smolko said. The investigation was a joint venture with the State College Police Department and the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Enforcement. Smolko said Sapia knew it was being conducted.
"There was no undercover work conducted. It was all done in an open capacity," he said.
Donahue arrived at the second-floor, New York-style nightclub at about 9:30 p.m. Feb. 16 -- a Thursday night. He was stabbed at about 1:30 a.m. Feb. 17 and died from a puncture wound to the heart Feb. 19.
State College police have charged Josephy Alberto Ventura, 27, of East Prospect Avenue, with first- and third-degree murder. Ventura and his friends, who were also at Club Love on Feb. 17, were allegedly involved in an altercation with Donahue's friends. Ventura was found with a bloody knife the night of the stabbing and will be tried for murder.
A motive for the stabbing has yet to be confirmed, though the role alcohol played in the altercation has been discussed thoroughly in case testimony, and Ventura's attorney has said his client was blacked-out drunk. However, witness testimony indicates that Ventura did not smell like liquor or seem intoxicated.
"It's a tragedy," Sapia said. "Everyone wants to help the prosecution."
Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira said he was aware of the investigation but has not seen any results.
"It hasn't been brought to my attention, and clearly, that has not been my focus," Madeira said, referring to his role as prosecutor in Ventura's pending murder trial.
If the investigation finds that Club Love's drink specials were in violation of the law, the liquor control board would rule on the evidence and set a fine.
State College Borough Manager Tom Fountaine said he has not yet received the results from the investigation. He said the borough does not have control over liquor licenses, and any actions taken would be determined by the liquor control board.
