LAWRENCE COUNTY Roadside fireworks get police attention

Customers are asked to make sure they are buying legal products.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Watch out for those illegal fireworks, warns Lawrence County District Attorney Matthew Mangino.
Mangino says his office has been looking into roadside stands that have been popping up in the county in the past week selling fireworks.
Some are legal, like one set up by Phantom Fireworks of Youngstown in Shenango Township, but the district attorney worries that others are not.
"What concerns me is the 'Joe Blow' who sees these tents and goes and buys $1,000 worth of fireworks and sells them out of the back of his pickup truck," Mangino said.
The district attorney said no arrests have been made.
However, Mangino said sellers and buyers can be prosecuted in Pennsylvania for having illegal fireworks.
What's legal?
State law prohibits everything from firecrackers to Roman Candles and anything with any explosive or flammable compound, he said.
The law does allow sparklers, paper caps and other things that contain .25 grain or less of explosive compound, Mangino said.
Jerry Bostocky, vice president of Phantom Fireworks in Youngstown, said his company is selling sparklers and other approved novelty items only at its tent off U.S. Route 422 in Lawrence County.
The company also has tents in Mercer, Beaver, Crawford, Erie and Armstrong counties that will come down on Sunday, he said.
The tents are in response to other fireworks companies coming to the area to sell their items for the Fourth of July holiday, Bostocky said.
Bostocky said people should be wary of roadside vendors and make sure they are getting legal products.
"The biggest concern in roadside vendors is the illegal explosives, sometimes referred to as M-80s or M-100s. These are things made in basements and can kill or maim people," he said.
Bostocky said reputable fireworks sellers have labeled products that have been approved by the federal government.
Mangino said the flurry of roadside stands and tents this year took his office by surprise, but promises his office will be ready to handle any problems next year.