Chester County Hospital Loses Bid To Sell Confiscated Wine As Fundraiser
By Marcy Norton
WEST CHESTER, Pa. (CBS) -- A judge in Chester County has denied a bid by Chester County Hospital to sell thousands of dollars worth of seized wine as a fundraiser. The case hinged on a liquor law passed way back in the 1930s.
State police seized the 1,300 bottles of wine from a Chester County attorney accused of illegally selling it from his home. A law passed in the 1930s allowed hospitals to claim seized alcoholic beverages to use for medicinal purposes.
Last month, Chester County hospital tried to claim the wine, intending to sell it to raise money for hospital services, but the state attorney general's office stepped in, saying the law doesn't allow seized alcohol to be sold as a fundraiser, and the judge agreed.
AG spokesperson Jeffrey Johnson says he realizes the state's position may be unpopular, but, "We have to apply the law that's there, so it's going to require a change in the law for the outcome to be different in a case like this, moving forward."
For now, liquor control enforcement is holding the wine for at least a month, in case the hospital appeals. Calls to the hospital and its attorney have not been returned.