A South Side ethnic club that runs a regular bingo is the first to be fined for violations of Allegheny County's new workplace smoking ban.

The county Health Department said yesterday that it has levied a $16,250 fine against the Lithuanian Citizens' Society of Western Pennsylvania for allowing 65 people to light up during a bingo it held on March 21.

"We think this action shows we take violations of the ordinance very seriously," department spokesman Guillermo Cole said. "It's an important new tool in our efforts to protect public health here in Allegheny County."

But inside the Lithuanian Hall last night, where a regularly scheduled bingo was being held in the newly instituted smoke-free atmosphere, the reaction to the fine -- and the ban -- was disbelief and anger.

"It's ridiculous," said bingo manager Barbara Hooper. "The people who come here are upset. And I don't know what it will do to our turnout."

Ms. Hooper, 58, of Oakmont, a smoker, estimated the bingo brings in about 170 people to each session and as many as 75 percent of them are smokers. The hall provides a nonsmoking section on the stage behind the area where the balls are drawn and it's always used. If there were complaints, she said, she wished the offended patrons had come to her rather than contacting the health department.

While some of the bingo patrons complained that the fines had come as a surprise, Mr. Cole said the group had been warned.

During the first 180 days of the ban, which began Jan. 2, "a warning is given for the first violation," he explained. "So there was a warning given for the first violation, but the club was fined the required $250 for each of the remaining 64 smoking violations."

On top of the $16,000, the group was fined $250 for not having a smoking policy in place, another requirement of the ordinance.

None of the offending smokers were cited or fined.

According to Mr. Cole, three people complained about smoking at the South Side establishment. A warning letter was sent to the group on Feb. 23, after the first complaint, indicating what it had to do to comply with the ban.

"When we continued to get complaints about smoking there after they got the letter, we then decided to do our investigation with our health department inspector," Mr. Cole said.

He added that volunteer organizations can apply for waivers for fund-raisers as long as no workers are paid or compensated in any way and children are not on the premises. The inspector learned that the Society's bingo had a paid staff of 17 and there were minors working in the kitchen.

President John P. Baltrus said the group, which is licensed to serve alcohol, is a social club and bar. In December, Common Pleas Judge Michael Della Vecchia decided that the smoking ban would not apply to restaurants and taverns until May 1.

Based on that ruling, the group contends that it, too, can delay implementing the ban. No action was taken to prevent smoking during bingo, such as posting no-smoking signs or prohibiting employees from smoking, Mr. Baltrus said.

"We're approaching it as we're a bar that happens to have a bingo," he said. "We're not a bingo that happens to have a bar."

Mr. Cole said similar issues have been raised by bowling alley operators that offer food and drinks on site, but the judge's ruling applies only to freestanding bars and restaurants.

"Same thing with private clubs, country clubs and such," he said. "They thought that because they had a bar or restaurant [also], they'd be exempt until May 1. And we said, 'No, you're not.' "

Since the ban's inception, the health department has received 129 complaints about potential violations. Most have involved office buildings and recreational facilities, Mr. Cole said.

"We've sent warning letters to 37 places since the beginning of the year, and we have not had to fine anyone else," he said.

The Lithuanian Society will appeal the fine, but in the meantime will abide by the ordinance. Signs forbidding smoking have been posted and a policy for employees has been developed. If the penalty is upheld after appeal, the group will implement the ruling immediately, Mr. Baltrus said.

But if the fine is left in place, he said, it's going to impact what the group is able to give to charities. Since 1994, the Lithuanian Citizens' Society has contributed more than $620,000 to charitable organizations in the Pittsburgh area, as well as in Lithuania.

The fine could be reduced on appeal, Mr. Cole said. A hearing, likely arbitrated by someone from the health department, will be held within 30 days of filing of the appeal. That decision can, in turn, be appealed to Common Pleas Court.

"Our concern was they didn't work with us," Mr. Cole said. "We've been in communication with them and told them we have an ordinance and it applies to their operation, and they continued to allow smoking. That's why we took action."

As Mr. Baltrus put it, "What we have here is just a massive failure to communicate on both parties."