RAVE ORGANIZER: POLICE FORCE 'OVERZEALOUS AND RIDICULOUS'

The owner of a Rostraver Township ice rink said young people attending an
all-night "rave" at his Route 51 business were harassed by police and
firefighters early Sunday, and the actions by public safety officials
nearly caused a riot.

"If anything would have happened they would have been at fault, and I think
they really wanted a riot. Believe me when I say I understand security is
necessary at a gathering of a lot of young people, but use some common
sense and don't waste taxpayers' money like that," said James Murphy, owner
of the Rostraver Ice Gardens.

Eight adults ages 18 to 24 and four male juveniles were arrested between
midnight Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday at the concert attended by about 690
people, said township police Chief Greg Resetar. The arrests were mostly
for possession of illegal drugs, including ecstasy, LSD and marijuana.

Public concerns expressed after previous all-night dance parties called
"raves" at the ice rink prompted Sunday's police presence, the chief said.
And Resetar said he's not about to apologize for the show of force.

"Nothing personal, but I hope they get the message, and that is that these
rave concerts are not welcome here in Rostraver Township. We have a zero
tolerance in this community toward illicit drug use, and it will be this
way as long as they have them here," Resetar said.

Raves originated in Manchester, England, in the late 1980s. Often
publicized through other clubs and the Internet, parties can draw thousands
of teens and young adults ranging from 17 to 30 years of age.

Last weekend's concert was attended by less than one-fourth of the
3,300-plus who were drawn to raves held at the ice rink on Good Friday and
the Saturday before Easter. Twenty-one arrests, mostly for drug violations,
were made at those two concerts, police said.

Murphy blamed the drop in attendance on media reports after previous
concerts. The ice rink owner said he and the promoter of last weekend's
rave, Total Xperience Production in Pittsburgh, lost money, but he did not
disclose an amount.

Murphy called the show of police force "overzealous and ridiculous."

"I thought this is America," he said.

Murphy questioned whether the fire department has ever conducted another
inspection at 3 a.m. And he wondered why he wasn't approached in advance
about potential fire hazard concerns rather than in the middle of the concert.

"They used two fire trucks and pulled right in front for just an
inspection. We had to turn up the lights and shut down the music with
nearly 800 young people including our workers in here, and it really could
have caused a panic," he said.

"You'd think the Colombian drug cartel was here holding a party with 50
police mostly undercover and even the state attorney general's drug task
force," he said.

Police said the fire safety inspection was conducted as a follow-up to a
complaint by the state attorney general's office to the state Department of
Labor and Industry concerning the maintenance of exits, aisles, passageways
and stairways leading to and from exits.

Inspections were made Sunday to emergency lighting systems, and information
was collected pertaining to the number of occupants permitted based on the
floor area. Police said 11 violations were forwarded to state officials,
but Murphy said he was not informed of the alleged safety offenses.

Murphy, who has run the ice rink since 1993, corrected some minor
violations at the scene when he was informed of them, police said.

Murphy claimed other events that draw large numbers of young people are not
subject to such scrutiny.

"You get that many young people together I don't care where ... a high
school football or basketball game and they search those events like these
kids were harassed and they'll get a lot more arrests. They wouldn't dare
do that during a high school football game," Murphy said.

Murphy said there's never been a fight at any of the raves, and no weapons
have been confiscated despite intense scrutiny.

"Can you say that about any high school football game? Yes, there's been
some drug use here, but that's just 1 percent of the kids and the previous
arrests were made by security we had already contracted here, including
township police. The other 99 percent of the kids are great ... just here
to dance," he said.

Resetar countered that promoters of the event are more interested in making
money than the recurring drug activities.

"They contracted us (police) and want a couple of officers there for
security and to protect the money, but they apparently want us to turn our
heads to the drug use, and our officers are not about to do that. Under our
contract (with rave promoters), I was under the impression that the police,
promoters and Ice Gardens were supposed to be working toward the same goal,
but apparently we don't have the same goals," Resetar said.

"Our goal is that we have zero tolerance toward illicit drugs, and their
goal is the business end - to make money," he added.

Despite the arrests, Murphy said a rave planned for June 2 remains scheduled.

Juveniles arrested were two 17-year-old males from Salem, Ohio, for
possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia; a 17-year-old male from
North Huntingdon Township for possession of ecstasy and drug paraphernalia;
a 15-year-old male from Wexford for possession with intent to deliver
ecstasy and possession of marijuana.

Adults arrested were Kristi Lynn Welsh, 18, of Pittsburgh, possession of 59
ecstasy tablets and possession with intent to deliver; David Hackney, 22,
of East Liverpool, Ohio, possession of ecstasy and possession with intent
to deliver; Christopher Pastor, 19, of Pittsburgh, possession of LSD;
Richard A. Howard, 20, of Beaver Falls, possession of ecstasy and
possession with intent to deliver.

Also arrested were Da Pol, 23, of Cabot, Butler County, delivery of
ecstasy; John A. Fazio, 18, of Pittsburgh, possession of drug
paraphernalia; Matthew H. Wexler, 20, of Wexford, possession of ecstasy;
and Anthony Fortner, 24, of Pittsburgh, public drunkenness.

The eight adults were committed to the Westmoreland County Prison on bonds
ranging from $10,000 to $25,000 pending preliminary hearings. The
15-year-old from Wexford was the only youth committed to the county
juvenile detention facility.

Police said charges may be filed against a 19-year-old Tarentum man and a
22-year-old New Kensington man pending the results of laboratory tests on
items confiscated, police said.

Assisting township police were agents from the attorney general's office;
the Westmoreland County Drug Task Force, which included officers from
Ligonier, North Belle Vernon, North Huntingdon, Jeannette, Irwin, Delmont,
Latrobe, Vandergrift, New Kensington, Washington Township and Lower
Burrell; the county sheriff's department; and state police in Belle Vernon.

Also assisting were units from Rescue 8 Emergency Medical Service,
Rostraver No. 1 Fire Department, Rostraver Central Fire Department and
Collinsburg Fire Department.